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MRS, A.BAJLEY 



Western 
Poultry Book 



BY 



MRS. A. BASLEY 



TELLS YOU WHAT TO DO AND fiOW TO DO IT 
THE CHICKEN BUSINESS FROM FIRST TO LAST 

WITH 

Questions and Answers 

Relative to Up-to-date Poultry Culture 



Published by 

MRS. A. BASLEY 

Los Angeles, California 



PRICE ONE DOLLAR 



The Neuner Company Press 

Los Angeles 

1910 



INTRODUCTION 



In the hope of helping beginners and others of my friends in the poultry 
business, and in response to urgent requests for a book on poultrj' culture from 
my pen, I wrote a small volume a year ago. The whole edition was sold in 
a year, and on account of the interest taken in it and the demand for some- 
thing more. I have re-written it and added chapters on breeding in line, fireless 
brooders and other new features in the poultry business. 

The book is a sjniopsis of many chapters of my "Woman's Work in the 
Poultry Yard" and other talks on poultry, and embodies the personal, practical 
experiences I have been through myself in manj- years of pleasant work in 
the poultry yard. Its object is not necessarily to urge anyone into the business, 
but to encourage and help beginners and especially newcomers on the Pacific 
Coast, where conditions differ materially from those in the East and where 
there is an increasingly' large demand for both poultry and eggs; where the 
poultry business is about as profitable as any that can be undertaken and a 
good living maj' be made in the pure air and sunshine by any industrious man 
or woman. 

Having for many years been lecturer at the Farmers' Institutes in the 
Extension Courses of the University of California, for two years instructor in 
poultry husbandry at the poultrj' school of the University of California, and 
having been editor or associate editor of four agricultural and other news- 
papers on the Pacific Coast, many questions have during this time been pro- 
pounded to me relating to the poultry business, its difficulties, the troubles 
of poultry raisers and the ailments of fowls. Some of these questions will be 
found in tliis book with the answers to them, also remedies for the diseases or 
ills of fowls in this climate. 

Hoping and feeling sure that my little book may prove a help to all its 
readers, I am, 

Verv cordiallv vour friend. 




(OCI.A2'6Tll.i 




Airs. A. Basley 



Copyriyht \mO by 
Mrs. A. Basliv 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Common Sense Poultry Houses 9 

What Variety to Choose 18 

Eggs for Breeding 27 

Eggs for Market 30 

The Feeding Problem 34 

Sample Rations 35 

Feeding Beans 39 

Sprouting Oats 44 

Breeding-in-Line 45 

Fertile Eggs 53 

Testing Eggs for Incubation 56 

Natural Incubation 59 

Artificial Incubation 64 

Care of Brooder Chicks 69 

Fireless Brooder 73 

White Diarrhoea in Brooder Chicks 74 

Vigor 71 

One-Day-Old-Chick Trade 79 

Broiler Ranches 80 

Summer Work 81 

Trap Nest 85- 

Grit and Gizzard 89 

Pests of a Poultry Yard 92 

Diseases of Poultry (Roup) 95 

Town Lot Fowls 98 

Moulting Season 101 

Value of Economy 105 

Preserving Eggs 109 

Capons 112 

Turkeys and How to Raise Them 116 

Ducks and their Varieties 124 

Something about Geese 131 

Basley Formulas 134 

Questions and Answers 135 

Cause and Cure of Sickness 137 

Lice, Mites, Ticks and Worms 159 

Feeding in General 165 

Egg Question 173 

Hatching with Incubator and Hen 176 

Yard Room 183 

Mating and Breeding 184 

Miscellaneous Questions 185 

Turkey Questions 190 

About Ducks and Geese 195 



classifij:d index 



Acute Indigestion 148 

Age for Mating 184 

Air Puflf 137 

Airing Eggs in Incubator 176 

American Class 19 

Analysis of Hen and Egg 32 

Analysis of Beans 41 

Animal Food 165 

Apoplexy 137 

Artificial Incubation 64 

Asiatic Class 21 

\\l(.'sl>ur3' Ducks 125 

B 

I'.ad Meat 166 

I'.alanced Ration 31-100 

HaUl Head 138 

Hasloy Formulas 134 

lu-ans. Feeding 39 

Bedbugs 92 

Beet Tops 166 

Blind Chicks 138 

Blood Meal 166 

Blood Spots in Eggs 1 74 

Body Lice 159 

Breeds and Classes 18 

Breeding 45-184 

Breeding Chart, I. K. Felch 49 

Breeding Chart, Mrs. Metcalf 50 

•Breathing Difliculty 146 

Broiler Ranches 80 

I'.roilors, Ration for 36 

llroken Glass and China for Grit.. 171 

Brooders 182 

Brooders, Fireless 73-187 

Brooder Chick, Care of 69-182 

Broken-down Hen 189 

Broncliitis 138-142-152 

r.uff Orpington Ducks 128 

Bumble Foot 137 

Burglar Alarm 183 

C 

Cancer 1 39 

Canker 96-139 

Cannibalism 1 39 

Capons 112-185 

Capons as Mothers 114 

Capons, Training 114 

Catarrh 94-144 

Cat and Hawk Proof Coup 133 

Caponizing 112-113 

Care of Brooder Chicks 69 

Care of Fertile Eggs 29 

Castor Bean Bushes 185 

Charts for Breeding 49-50 

Chart for Marking Chicks 52 

Chicks Choking 141 

Chicks Dving in Shells 178 

Chicks. Rations for 71-72-189 

Chicken-pox 140 

Clioosing Eggs for Hatching 29 

Colony Houses 9-16 



Ciinil) Discolored 141 

Coml) White 142 

Common Sense Poultry Houses... 9 

Composition of Hen and Egg 32 

Congestion of the Lungs 143 

Cold in the Head 141 

Cooling Eggs 66 

Corns on Feet 1 37 

Cough and Sneeze 141-142 

Crippled Chicks 1 77 

Crop n 

Crop r.ound 144 

Crude Oil 186 

D 

Diarrhoea, White 75 

DitTercnt Breeds 18 

Dipping for Lice 159-188 

Diphtlieritic Roup 96-145 

Diseases of Poultry 95-137 

Douglas Mixture 134 

Dropsy 158 

Dry Feed System 35 

Drv Hopper Method 83-166 

Dry Mash 166 

Depluming Mites 162 

Duck Eggs vs. Hen Eggs 195 

Ducks 24-124-195 

Ducks Need Grit 90 

Ducks, Died in the Shell 197 

Ducks, Feeding for Eggs 196 

Ducks, Weight 196 

Ducks, Incubator 195 

Ducks, Indigestion 195 

Ducks, to Secure Fertility 195 

Ducks, Rations for 129-130 

E 

Economy in Different Ways 105 

F.Umw Room Needed 70 

Egg, Analj'sis of 32 

I'.gg Bound 1 73 

F.gg Eating 175 

F,gg Route 84 

Egg Tester. 58-66 

liggs for Breeding 27 

Eggs for Hatching 29-65-179 

Eggs for Market 30 

Eggs, Thin Shells 90-174 

Eggs. 200 a Year 30 

Englisii Class 22 

Essentials 30 

Exercise 31-167 

Eves Swollen 156 



Fatten Fowls 38 

Fatty Degeneration of Liver 145 

breather Pulling 146 

breeding Chicks 71-72 

b\>eding Problem 34 

breeding for Fertility 28 

I'-eeding Beans 39 

Feeding for Color 104 



I'ccdiny JJiiring Moult .102 

Feeding Ducks 129 

Feeding in General 165 

Feeding for Market 170 

Feeding for Young and Old 168 

Feeding, What and How 170 

Feeding Turkeys 117 

Fertility in Eggs 53 

Firelcss Brooders 188 

Fertile Eggs, Care of 29 

Fleas 92-160 

Flea Powder, Cheap 161 

Formula for Chick Feed 189 

Formula for Laying Hens 189 

Formulas, Baslcy, Tested 1 34 

Formula, Government, Lice 93 

Formula, Govt., Spray or Faint... 94 

French Class 23 

From Far-away Alaska 186 

Fooling the Hen 1 78 

Food, Good and Bad for Ducks... 195 

Food Elements 34 

Formula, Feeding 100-134-168-189 

G 

Game Class 23 

Geese 25-197 

Geese and Ducks 196 

Green Droppings 146 

Green Food 108-171 

Grit and Gizzard 89 

Grit, Best 89 

Grit, Starved for Lack of 90 

Geese Varieties 1 32 

Geese, Hatching and Feeding. . 131-132 
Geese, Toulouse 197 

H 

1 1 anil)urg Class 23 

I latching 62 

I I atching Ducks 129 

I latching Turkey Eggs 194 

Ill-ad Lice 160 

1 fcart Trouble 146 

lltlping the Hatch 178 

I Icmorrhage of the Oviduct 147 

I Icn, Analysis of 32 

I lens, Rations for a Dozen 37 

I I cnpccked Husbands 186 

1 1 iTcdity 30 

I lopper Feeding 35-166 

I louses -. 9-17 

Houses, Town Lot 98 

I low Many on Two Acres 183 

How to Make Nests 160 

How Much to Feed 28-169-173 

How Long Before Laying 187 

Hump Themselves 161 

Hatching and Brooding Ducks. . . .129 
I latcliing and Feeding Geese 131 



incubator Chicks Dying 179 

Incubators 67-181 

ln(uI)ation, Testing Eggs 66 

Incubation with Hens 59 

Incubators, Trouble with 180 



Increasing Size of Eggs 184 

Indigestion 1 48 

Indigestion and Liver Complaint .. 147 

I nstrumcnt for Testing Eggs 190 

I ndian Runner Ducks 127 

Infertility 176 

Intluenza 147 

Inflammation of Crop 147 

Insecticide 61-93 

Insects 92 

Intestinal Worms 163-164 

K 

Kaffir Corn 172 

Keeping Eggs for Setting 29 

Kerosene Emulsion 93-160 

L 

Lack of Oxygen 177 

Lame Hen 137 

Largest White Eggs 174 

Layers 190 

Laying Hens, Ration for 36 

Leg Weakness 1 48 

Lice 93-159-164 

Limber Neck 148 

Lime b'ormula for Preserving 

Eggs Ill 

Liver Complaint 149-147 

Liver Complaint in Turkeys 194 

Liver Enlarged 145 

Location of Incubator 65 

M 

MaU- I5ird 28 

Mange 149 

Manure 197 

Marking Chicks 62 

Market Eggs 30 

Market, Feeding for 38 

Mash System 35-166 

Mating 29 

Mating and Breeding 184 

Meat 166 

Mediterranean Class 20 

Millet Seed 171 

Mites 92-161 

Mixing Foods 169 

More About Turkeys 120 

Moult 102 

Moult, What to Feed 102 

Mushroom Houses Ill 

Muscovy Ducks 128 

N 

Naked Chicks 149 

Natural Incubation 59-181 

Nests for Setting 59 

Novel Nests 175 

Numl)cr on Five Acres 183 

O 

Oats Sprouting 44 

One-Day Old Chicks 79 

Operating Incubator 67 

( )rpington Breeds 22 

0\ari.iii Tumor 150 

Over-fat Hens 150 



p 

Packing Eggs for Hatching 190 

Painting Houses 17 

Pekin Ducks 126 

Pendulous Crop 150 

Pests of a Poultry Yard 92 

Poison 151-152-153 

Polish Class 23 

Poor Hatches 176-179 

Proper Range 82 

Preserving Eggs 109 

Proper Food 31 

Protein ..40-43 

Pip ..152 

Pneumonia 153 

Ptomaine Poison 151-152 

Pullets Dying 145 

Pulling Feathers 146 

Purple Comb 141 

Q 

Quantity to Feed 167 

Questions and Answers 137 

R 

Range 82 

Rations 35-100-167 

Rations of Successful Breeders.... 37 

Rations During Moult 102 

Records, Keeping 60 

Red Worms 163 

Rheumatism 153 

Roasters, Breeds for 26 

Roosting, Teaching 83 

Rouen Ducks 128 

Roup 95-153-155-173 

Roup Remedies 96-97 

Roupy Catarrh 95 

S 

Sample Rations 35 

Sand Fleas 160 

Scaly Legs 156 

Scratching Pens 31-167 

Selection of Breed 18-25 

Selecting Eggs for Hatching 65 

Setting Hens 59-176-177 

Shipping Turkeys 194 

Shipping Young Chicks 185 

Sickness, Cause and Cure 137 

Skimmed Milk 172 

Sneeze 141 

Soft Shelled Eggs 174-187 

Something in Throat 157 

Sick Chicks 144 

Sore Eyes 156 

Sore Throat 157 

Sorghum Seeds 1 72 

Speck of Blood in Egg 1 74 

Spoiled Food 107 

Spray for Houses 94-165 

Sprouted Oats 44 

Spurs, Saw Off 187 

Stick-tight Fleas 160 

Stone Bruise 137 

Straw for Pens 31 



Stuck up Behind 76 

Sudden Death 175 

Sulphur for Lice 189 

Summer Work 81 

Sunshine and Shade 81 

Swollen Feet 138 

Swell Head 156 

Swelled Eyes 156 

Symtoms of Grit Craving 90 

T 

Tape-worm in Turkey 193 

Teaching Chicks to Roost 83 

Technical Names 186 

Temperature Hatching 67 

Testing Eggs 56-60-66 

Testing Incubator 56 

Thermometer 57-178 

Testing Out Infertile Eggs 190 

Throats, Sore 157 

Ticks 92-162 

Toe Eating 157 

Tomatoes 167-190 

Town Lot Fowls 98 

Trap Nest 85 

Trouble with Incubator 180 

Tuberculosis 157 

Tumor 158 

Turkey Questions and Answers. .. 190 
Turkeys 24-191 

Turkeys — 

How to Raise 116 

How Many Toms 194 

Lame 191 

Keep Separate from Chickens. .. 191 

Over-fed Little Ones 117 

Keep Liver Healthy 119 

Chicken-pox 190 

Lack of Green Food 192 

Blackhead Disease 121 

Liver Complaint 122 

Turkey, Sick Tom 193 

Turning Eggs 66 

V 

Value of Economy 105 

Varieties of Ducks 24 

Vertigo 158 

Vigor Necessarv 27-77 

Vent Gleet....'. 158 

W 

Warts on Comb and Eyes 140 

Water-glass 109 

Weiglit of Ducks 196 

Weights, Standard 18-26 

White Comb 142-158 

White Diarrhoea 75 

White Wash for Houses 

Wind in Crop 159 

Worms 163-164 

Y 

Yard Room 1 83 

Yard, Plan of 99 




Arlington Egg Ranch 



PART I. 



COMMON SENSE POULTRY HOUSES 



The poultry business is one of the most fascinating as well as the 
most profitable, considering the amount of capital invested, in the 
West, ihe conditions here, however, differ so greatly to those 
in the East and other localities, that the wavs of treating the fowls 
must also be different. The needs of fowls do not vary the 
resources of the places do, and the success of the poultry raiser 
greatly depends upon adapting the conditions of the locality to the 
need of the fowls. 

Nothing is more important than the proper housing of chickens 
ihe style of house a man builds for his birds will depend upon his 
means and inclinations. It is not alvvavs the most expensive house 
that gives the most eggs. In planning poultry houses and yards 
two or three principles should be firmly held in mind • First the 
house must have a liberal supply of oxygen, which can onl'v be 




Mrs. Basley's Continuous Fresh Air House and Scratching Shed 



10 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



supplied l)y perfect ventilation ; secondly, it must be free from 
draughts and be dry; and, thirdly, be easily accessible to the at- 
tendant, not only for cleaning- and spraying, but to enable one to 
handle the fowls when on the perches. It should also be large 
enough to avoid crowding of the fowls. 

The laying hens should be kept in yards in permanent houses, 
easy of access, whilst the young and growing fowls will do best on 
free range with movable houses, called sometimes colony houses. 
These give the best results. 

After many years of experience here, the writer has found that 



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there are two classes of houses admirably adapted to the needs of 
the fowls and to this climate. These are called the open front or 
the "fresh air" house and the "mushroom" house. What is meant 
by an open front house, is a house enclosed on three sides and roof, 
with one side open to the fresh air. This style house can l)e con- 
structed as a separate and moval)le house or as a continuous and 
scratching shed house. A plain open front house without a scratch- 
ing shed attached, is used in many places as a colony house where 
fowls have free range or where they are kept in an orchard. 

The "mushroom" house is built tight on four sides and roof, 
without any floor and is raised from the ground alxiut twelve 
inches. 



COMMON SENSE POULTRY HOUSES 



11 



Cuts of both of these styles of houses will serve to show their 
construction. 

A "fresh air'.' house that proved excellent and which I used for 
years on my ranch was one hundred and twenty feet long and ten 
feet wide. It was divided into six houses with scratching pens. I 
also had another which suited me well. It was eight feet wide and 
a hundred feet long; besides that, I had twenty colony houses for 
the young and growing stock, and two brooder houses. 

The continuous house and scratching shed of which I give a 
photograph and part of ground plan were built of flooring, tongued 
and grooved. 

The other house was of boards, battened, and the colony houses 
of resawed redwood or of shakes. Some were of rubberoid or 
building paper. 

Many of the artistic looking house plans which may be found in 







poultry books were planned by men who never owned a chicken, 
and if built in this, or in any other climate, would be highly unsatis- 
factory. The plans here described have all been used either by 
myself or by successful poultry raisers. I have seen them all and 
can assuredly recommend them for use on the Pacific Coast. 

The houses I am describing are of the inexpensive kind, for so 
great is the variety of plans of houses designed for fowls that it 
would be impossible to mention them all in a short article. We will, 
therefore, consider only a few of the cheapest and most satisfactory 
small houses adapted to this climate. 

The first requisite in the house is pure air. To secure this the 
ventilation must be at the bottom. Some people think that the 
bad air ascends, but this has been proved a mistake — the foul gases 
descend ; the pure air and the warm air are lighter and they rise 
and we want to keep them in, but if we have an opening for ven- 
tilation at the top or near the top of the house, we lose the 
warmth. A loss of warmth at night in the winter means a loss of 
eggs, or more food is needed to supply this loss. The ventilation 



12 



MRS. BASLE Y'S WESTERN POULTRY ROOK 



should cither be at the bottom, or one entire side of the house 
should be left open. 

A Variety of Houses 
The accompanying- rough little cut of a "mushroom" house will 
give some idea of the bottom ventilation. Houses like this were 
used by a successful pcuiltryman. He made a light frame five feet 
square and five feet high. This he covered with canvas and the 
roof he made of rubberoid roofing. He left a space below of ten or 
twelve inches. These "mushroom" houses were tipped over every 
day to be sunned or cleaned. I improved upon his plan by making 




ISFT. 

Hoffman's Combination Open Front House and Scratching Pen 



a door of one whole side, for I wanted to be able to handle my fowls 
at night without tipping the house over. Perches should be placed 
about twelve inches above the open space, and in the case of heavy 
breeds, a small ladder or run board should be placed for them to 
reach the perches easily when going to roost. The advantages of 
such a house are its lightness, and the free circulation of air without 
draughts on the fowls. These houses can be covered with matched 
lumber, shakes, canvas, burlap, rubberoid, or even common domestic 
muslin, which may be oiled or painted with crude petroleum. 

The open front house is admirably adapted to California climate. 
It is now meeting with favor even in the rigorous climate of the 
East, where poultry raisers begin to realize the value of fresh air 
without draughts, if they want to have vigorous hens that will lay 
eggs in the winter time. I have been using the open front houses 
of various sizes for over twelve years and can assert that they are 
the only kind I ever want to use. Another style open front house 
that I have seen and like very much is fifteen feet by eleven feet six 
inches, and is seven feet high at the back and four feet at the open 
front. It is constructed of rubberoid or malthoid and is almost 
vermin proof. It is divided in the middle by chicken wire, so form- 



COMMON SENSE POULTRY HOUSES 



13 



ing either one house or two as required. The roof is first covered 
with two-inch chicken wire to support the rubberoid. At the bot- 
tom of the walls next to the ground it is boarded up for about two 
feet all the way round ; this is to keep in the straw, for all the floor 
space of the house is used as a scratching pen. The sides and back 
above these boards are made of panels of rubberoid nailed to light 
frames without the chicken wire. These panels are taken down on 
all fine days to sun and air the house. The panels are kept in place 
by large wooden buttons. The front is entirely open or only closed 
by chicken wire except when it rains, then a burlap curtain is let 
down. The perches are near the back of the house about six inches 
above the dropping boards. The dropping boards are made of the 
rubberoid on frames. They are four feet wide and are placed on 
cleats two feet from the floor. This is a double house and each 
side will hold from twelve to twenty hens. The above description 
is of the Hofifman house pictured on page 12. 

A cheap and substantial house can be made of two piano boxes. 
The simplest way to make such a house is as follows : Removing 
the backs of the piano cases, place the cases back to back thirty 
inches apart, on light sills. Use the boards which were the backs 
to fill up the thirty inches on the sides and roof; cover the roof 
with rubberoid or with oil cloth, and you have a comfortable house, 
that will hold about a dozen or twenty hens, at a small cost. The 
front of the piano box house should either be hinged so it can 
always be kept open except during the rain or it may be entirely 
dispensed wath and a burlap curtain used to keep out the rain. The 
cost of this piano box house is about three dollars. 

Inexpensive Colony Houses 

An inexpensive colony house is pictured below. This house 
is of resawed redwood, four by six feet. It is light and easily moved. 




Open Front House Without Scratching Shed 

The front is on hinges and it is always kept open except during rain, 
and when it is closed it only comes down six inches below the 
perches, leaving an open space of about fifteen inches across the 
entire front. 

Still another style of colony house and one well adapted for use 
in an orchard or in the colony plan has been in use for some years 



14 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTKRN POULTRY ROOK 



oil a larg'c poultry ranch in California. 'The house is eight by ten 
feet and two feet to the eaves; all the framework, including the 
runners, is of two by three-inch stufif, and the walls and ends are 
of one by twelve-inch boards, shiplapped so as to avoid using- bat- 




Biddy's Bed-Room 



tens. The rafters are five feet four inches long, and three pairs 
are used : a one by six inch strip is run all around the outside of the 
roof to form the eaves and also to make it tight ; eight pieces of 
one by four are used for sheathing, and the sawed shakes are close 
so that there is no draught from that source ; the only opening is 
from the front, which is open at all times. The houses do not 
require cleaning, for they are on runners, and are slid along about 
fifteen feet each time. Thus they are on fresh ground and much 
cleaner than one could do it in any other manner. 

The Two-Story House 

Among the hen houses, or chicken coops, as some people prefer 
to call them, that are being used very satisfactorily west of the 
Rockies, must be mentioned the two-story houses. There are 
especially adapted to the "intensive" method of poultry culture, and 
for limited space. 

Two-story breeding houses are being used by the immense 
broiler plant near Inglewood, of the Pacific Poultry Co. The 
houses are 500 feet long and only eight feet wide, and have no 
outside runs. It is a close-housing proposition, that is. the fowls 
are never allowed outside their quarters. The houses are parti- 
tioned oflF into pens every five feet, and these are divided into an 



COMMON SENSE POULTRY HOUSES 



15 



upper and lower story. Each pen contains ten females and one 
male for breeding purposes. 

The ground floor is covered with sand to the depth of six inches ; 
this is raked off clean every week and the sand renewed entirely 
when necessary. A board ladder gives the fowls access to the 







second floor, which is two feet above the sand level. On the 
second floor is located the scratching pens — a space 5x5 feet, par- 
titioned off next to the open front. A board eight inches high at 
the back keeps the straw in place. The remaining three by five feet 
is divided into nest boxes and a broody coop, over which extends a 
dropping board, with roosts above. 

The front of the house from eaves to ground level is five feet ; 
the rear of house, five feet six inches, thus giving the fowls plenty 
of head room over the roosts. Everything on this floor, roosts, 
dropping board, nests, broody coop, etc., is movable and can be 
taken out, and the house thoroughly cleaned and disinfected when 
necessary. 

Another two-story coop has been named by the inventor, Mrs. 
A. J. Badger, the "Twentieth Century Coop." • It makes intensive 
poultry culture appeal to those cramped for room. 

The "Twentieth Century Coop," designed by Mrs. A. J. Badger, 
is also a two-story coop, intended to house from twelve to fifteen 
adult fowls, enclosed all the time, and to supply sanitary quarters 



16 



MRS. P.AST,KY'S WESTERN POUETRY BOOK 



in all kinds of weather. It occupies a ground space of 3 x 12 feet, 
front elevation 5j4 feet, rear 4>4 feet. It can be completely closed 
during storms or opened to sun and air. For convenience in tak- 
ing apart for moving, it is built in sections. Canvas forms the 
outside covering for the coop. This coop might be suitable for 
those with limited space. 




Closed Open 

A. T. Badger's 20th Century Coop 

In conclusion, to quote Air. Ilarkcr, "If every poultry keeper 
on the Pacific Coast would make his roosting houses absolutely 
draught proof on three sides, yet leaving the front entirely open 
so that the fowls have an abundance of pure air, yet not to be 
exposed to a draught, the manufacturers of roup remedies would 
have to go out of business, for this disease would then be com- 
paratively unknown from Seattle to San Diego." 




Arlington Egg Ranch Continuous House and Scratching Shed 



COMMON SENSE POULTRY HOUSES 



17 



Painting the Houses 

For painting the houses I have found nothing better than the 
crude petroleum. I add to it for all my houses, red Venetian paint 
mixed with a little kerosene or distillate oil, to thin it. This colors 
them a handsome chocolate. Creosote stain of a dark green is also 
a very good color, harmonizing well with the landscape, and both 
of these are preventive of mites and keep their color wellfor several 
years. A good whitewash also is quite suitable. The color is a 
matter of taste after all, and I am only describing the inexpensive 




Roseneath Egg Ranch 

methods I and others have successfully used. The whole plant, 
irrespective of size, should be planned symmetrically ; the houses 
made all alike and placed in line ; the large in one row and the 
smaller in another and all arranged so as to save as many steps 
for the care-taker as possible. A little forethought in this matter 
at the beginning may save many steps and dollars later on. 




WHAT VARIETY TO CHOOSE 



"Poultry for profit" is the slogan. We are all looking more or 
less for the "almighty dollar." Every week, almost every day, I 
am appealed to for information as to which breed is the most profit- 
able. I can and often do tell which breed I have found the most 
profitable in the twenty years I have bred, but I cannot decide for 
another person what his or her likes or dislikes may be, nor can I 
tell what poultry will suit another's location or market. That, each 
one must decide for himself or herself, and then get the best of that 
breed to start with. 

A hint as to what to start with may help some of our readers. 
First of all study your market, decide whether it requires a brown 
or a white egi^, and choose accordingly ; secondly, decide what you 
will do with the surplus chickens, although this may seem like 
counting the chickens before they are hatched. Will you sell 
them as broilers and fryers or use them as roasters or capons? 
Thirdly, it is always a good plan to look ahead and choose a breed 
with a prospective value and demand — one of the breeds that may 
be rare in your neighborhood, or one of the newer breeds, such as 
the Orpingtons, Columbian Wyandottes or Faverolles. Choose a 
breed for which there is likely to be a large demand for eggs for 
hatching and for breeding stock. Or else take one of the best old 
breeds that you know will make you money from the start. What- 
ever breed you decide upon, get the best of that breed, and from a 
reliable breeder. 

Different Breeds 

A brief review of the different classes and breeds of domestic 
fowls may be of use to beginners. There are a large number of 
breeds in this countrv suitable to anv branch of the business, with 




White Wyandotte Cockerel 



WHAT VARIETY TO CHOOSE 



19 



all colors of plumage and size. Some especially adapted to the 
farm, others to closer confinement, as on the city lots, and still 
others — like the beautiful little bantams — adapted to lawns and 
front yards. 

The American Class 

The American class consists of what are called the dual-purpose 
fowl. That is, they are good for market as well as excellent layers, 
so when their day of usefulness in the tgg basket is over, they can 
end their existence on the table. This class gives us the Barred, 
BufT and White Plymouth Rock, the Silver, Golden, White, Bufif, 
Silver Pencilled, Black and Columbian Wyandottes, the Single and 
Rose Comb Rhode Island Reds, the Buckeyes, the Black, White 
and Mottled Javas, and the American Dominique. Of the list no 
doubt the Barred Plymouth Rock is the best known and most 
popular; it may be said to lead the American class. Next to it 
in popularity is the White Plymouth Rock. This breed led in 
numbers at a late show in Madison Square Garden in New York, 
which is a sure indication of its popularity. The order of the rest 
might be given as follows : White Wyandotte, Rhode Island Reds, 
Buff Wyandotte, Buff Plymouth Rock, Silver Wyandotte, Part- 
ridge Wyandotte, Golden Wyandotte, Buckeyes, American Domin- 
ique, Black Java. 

The standard weights of the above are as follows : All of the 
Plymouth Rocks, cock, 9^ pounds ; cockerel, 8 pounds ; hens, 7^ 
pounds, and pullets, 6^^ pounds. All of the Wyandottes, cock, Sj4 
pounds ; cockerel, 7^ pounds ; hen, 6^ pounds ; and pullet, 5j4 




White Wyandotte Hen 
(1st Prize) 



20 



MRS. BASLF.Y'S WESTERN POULTRY ROOK 




Typical White Leghorn Cockerel 
(1st Prize) 

])ounds. The Rhode Island Reds, cock, 8'/> pounds; cockerel, 7^ 
pounds; hen, ())'j pounds; pullet, 5 pounds. lUickeyes, half a pound 
lieaxier. except pullets. The jaxas are of the same weight as the 
rivniouth Rocks, and the American Dominiques, cock. 8 jwunds ; 
cockerel, 7 pounds; hen, 6 pounds; pullet, 5 pounds. 



The Mediterranean Class 
In the Mediterranean class we ha\e the Single and Rose Comb 
llrown. Single and Rose Comb White, IJlack, lUiff and Silver Duck- 
wing Leghorns; the Black and White Minorcas; the lUue Andalu- 
sians. the T.Iack Spanish and Mottled .\nconas. 




First Prize White Leghorn Hen 



WHAT VARIETY TO CHOOSE 



21 



The Mediterraiieaii class is particularly well a(la[)lc(l to the cli- 
mate of California, which greatly resenihlcs that of their home in 
the old countries. 

In point of popularity and merit, the kinds might be classed as 
follows: White Leghorn, lirown Leghorn, Black Minorca, Blue 
Andalusian, Black Spanish, Rose Comb Brown Leghorn, Rose 
Comb White Leghorn, JUiiTf Leghorn, White Minorca, Anconas, 
Silver Duck wing Leghorn and lilack Leghorn. The I Mack Minorca, 
White Leghorn and I'lack Spanish give the largest sized eggs. 

All of the Mediterraneans have white shelled eggs. There is no 
standard weight to the Leghorns. They are small birds, weighing 
3 or 4 pounds. Of the JMack and White Minorcas, the cock weighs 
9 pounds ; cockerel, 7^^ pounds ; hen, 7Y2 pounds ; pullets, 6^ 
l)ounds. The weight of the Andalusians are, cock, 6 pounds; cock- 
erel, 5 pounds; hen, 5 pounds; pullets, 4 pounds. 

The Black Spanish weights are, cock, 8 j^ounds; cockerel, dy^ 
pounds ; hens, 6^ pounds ; pullets, 5^ pounds. These lay an extra 
large handsome white-shelled ^%%. 

The Blue Andalusian has the unique distinction of wearing the 
national colors — red, white and blue — its plumage being blue, its 
face and eyes red and its ear-lobes white. 

The Asiatic Class 

The Asiatic class consists of the Light and Dark Brahmas, 
White and Black Langshans, the Buff, Partridge, White and Black 
Cochins. Tn point of jvipularity they would l)c about in this order" 




First Prize Black Cochin Hen 
(Never defeated in ten years) 



22 



MRS. RASI.KVS WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



Light Brahmas, Black Langshans, Buff Cochins, Partridge Co- 
chins, Dark Brahmas, While Cochins, White Langshans and Black 
Cochins. The standard weights are: Light Brahmas, cock, 12 
pounds ; cockerel, 10 pounds ; hen, 9^ pounds ; pullet, 8 pounds. 

Weights for Dark Brahmas are: Cock, 11 pounds; cockerel, 9 
pounds; hen, 8)4 pounds; pullet, 7 pounds. Buff, Partridge and 
White Cochins: Cock, 11 pounds; cockerel, 9 pounds; hen, 8,^/2 
pounds; and pullet, 7 pounds; Black and White Langshans: Cock, 
10 pounds; cockerel, 8 pounds; hen, 7 pounds; and pullet, 6 
pounds. The eggs of all of the Asiatic class are a dark brown. 

The English Class 
The English class is composed of the White, Silver-gray and 
Colored Dorkings, the Red Caps and the Buff', Black, W^nite. Span- 




A Pair of Black Orpingtons 

gled and jubilee Orpingtons in both single and rose combs. The 
White Dorking weighs as follows: Cock, 7^ pounds; cockerel, 63/2 
pounds ; hen, 6 pounds ; and pullet, 5 pounds ; Silver-gray Dorkings, 
cock, 8 pounds ; cockerel, 7 pounds ; hen, 6^ pounds ; and pullet, 534 
pounds; Colored Dorkings, cock, 9 pounds; cockerel. 8 pounds; hen, 




White Orpington Hen 



WHAT VARIETY TO CHOOSE 23 

7 pounds; and pullet, 6 pounds; Red Caps, cock, 7^ pounds; cock- 
erel, 6 pounds; hen, 6 pounds; and pullet, 5 pounds; Orpingtons, 
cock, 10 pounds; cockerel, Syi pounds; hen, 8 pounds; and pullet, 
7 pounds. 

The French Class 

The French class -is composed of the Houdans, Crevecoeurs, La- 
Fleche and Faverolles. The Houdans weigh : Cock, 7 pounds ; 
cockerel, 6 pounds; hen, 6 pounds; and pullet, 5 pounds; the Cre- 
vecoeurs, cock, 8 pounds; cockerel, 7 pounds; hen, 7 pounds; and 



V ^ 








J 


1 




•- 



Typical Houdan Hen 

pullet, 6 pounds. The Crevecoeurs and La Meche are favorites in 
France, but are rarely found in this country, as they are not popu- 
lar in the market here on account of their dark colored shanks. 

The Hamburg Class 

The Hamburg class is composed of most excellent layers, of 
white eggs. They are the Silvered Spangled, Golden Spangled, 
Silver Penciled, Golden Penciled, White and Black Hamburgs, and 
the Silver and Golden Campines. No weights are given for the 
Hamburgs and Campines. 

The Polish Class 

The Polish arc more of a fancy fowl. They are the White 
Crested Black, Golden, Silver, White, Fjearded Golden, Bearded 
Silver, Bearded White and Buff Laced. They lay white eggs; no 
weights are given in the Standard for them. 

The Game Class 

In the Game class we have the Black Breasted Red, Brown Red, 
Golden Duckwing, Silver Duckwing, Red Pyle, White, Black and 



24 



MivS i;\si 1 •^ s wisii'.KN roui im wnnw 



riinlu'ii ( i;iiiu',s, ('(Miiisli ,iinl While lii(li;iii (i;iiiu's, llhuk Sim, alias 
and r.hulv r.rrasird \\vA Malays. 

riu" slaiitlanl five's no wi-ij^lil lor ( iaiiu's, i>\ri'|ttin^ loi' Indian 
( laiiir (ii<>\\ ralK'd (ornisl) I'dwl), \ i/. : (Ork, '' |>(tnnds; ( ookiMcl, 
7' • |>i>nnds; lirn, (>' ■ ponnds; and |inlKl, .^ ' • ptMinds; Malays, 
vink. '' |i(Mind^: (lukrirl. / ixitinds; lu'ii, 7 ponnds; and piilK't, 
.•' ptiiinds. 

Tin keys 

Tilt- iiHisi popnlar \arii'l\ >>l hifki'ys is llir I'.itin/r; llirn eoinos 
llu- Wliilr lldlland, aiiti|lu-r spUMuIid \aiiot\. Aiikmil; cIIu'Is \vr 
liaxi- llir I'dark, I'.iilT, I'MMiibon l\i-il, Slair \'an a^ansrl t and Wild. 






4tf' .. 



















Typical Pair Bronze Turkeys 



'\Uv woii^lils ioi' riion/e arc, rock, ,Mt ponnds; yearling (.•(>(."k, »x^ 
pounds : i-oi'knol, _\^ pounds ; lirn, JO pounds ; and pnlK'l. Id pounds ; 
loi W liiu- llolland, cock, _'(> pounds; cockerel, IS poniuls; lieu. 1() 
pounds ; pullel , !_' pounds. 

Ducks 

riic I'ckin is " riie \uiciican Muck" willt its while plnina^c and 
hca\ily mealed hody. riieir woii^lU is as I'olKnvs: .\tlull diakc, S 
pouiuls; yonni.;' drake, 7 poniuls; adult duck. " pounds ; youuj; thick. 
(> pounds. Anolhei- white \.iriet\, \ er\ popular in l''uj.^laud. is the 
.\yK>shui\-. Weight lor .idnlt tlrake, '* pounds; ^ounj.;' iliake, S 
pounds; .idult duck, S pounds; \ounq duck. 7 pounds. The colored 
Kouen have similar weii^hls and plumai.:e to tlie \\ IKl Mallaril, the 
drakes ha\ ius^ bright i^reeu heails. Cither piipular varieties are the 



WHAT VAKII'/rV 'I'O CIIOOSI', 



25 



Indian Knnnors, holli coloicd and while, calkMl llic l-c^!i<»i"ii of 
llie duck family, bcin^' rather small, very active and immense layers 
()f line while t-'j^J4's. 'riien tliere are the 1)11(1' ( )r|)inj4't()ii Ducks — 




Indian Runner IJucks 



hecominj^ very |)<i|»iilar; the I'.hu; SwimHsIi, lllack (ayn^a, ( nliMcd 
and While Muscovy, (all and I'.lack i'lasl India, llicsc lallci- hciii^ 
more ornamenlal varielios. 

Geese , 
Perhaps the easicsl kepi and noisiest of all our larj^c variety of 
domestic fowl are jji'eese, and vvlicic conditions are suitable, tlicy 
prove, very piDJitahle. The loidonsc, a larijc j.;ray variety, and the 
White h'juhden, seem llic most popular of the ])ure bred varieties, 
and the weij^hts for eillici' variety aic, for adull }.;andc|-, 20 ponn<ls; 
}'ounj; gander, IS pounds; adult ,i;oose, bS pounds; younL; Tonlotise 
jjfoosc, 15 pounds; and I'inbdcn youn^' j^oose, lO pounds. ()lliei- 
variclies are the African, Uiown and White ("hinese, (anadian and 
h'^'y])tian; tlicst' are either used lor ornanuuital purposes or for 
ci'os^^inj.^. 

Selection of Breed 

KnowiuL,'' the values and vvei,L;lits of llic dirfereiil slaiid.iid 
breeds, thc! bej^iimer will bi; enabled to make his choice, and have 
no lroid)le in lindiuf.;' the pro])er selection. 

Suppf)sin{4' ef4^' production is llic principal object, llic beginner 
will liave to decide according; to the dcmaii<l of his nearest market. 
I'oston re(piircs brown ej^'^s. San I'lancisco white ej^^jj^s, wliilc; Los 
Anjjfelcs seems lo be content with eillier. II yoii are living' near 
San ['"rancisco, one ol Ihc Mcdilci i aiM an breeds will pio\c the most 
valuable to you. The Minorcas, lilack Spanish and some of the 
strains of While Lej^horns lay the largest and liiiest lookinj.;' e^'^s. 
One corres|)ond(iit who asks for justice for the .Minorcas says he 
has Minorca hens which lay v^^i^s weij^hiiiL; nearly three f)uuces, 
and there were Leghorn C^f^a on exhibition in a lale poultry show 
which weighed live e^j^s to the pound, but tlicsc wert- from hens 
"bred to lay." The; I'rown r.ej^horns and 1 I ,iiiiburj.(s ^ive many 
^mi^ — white ej^';.^s also but smaller, which is an objection in a 
good market. Should brculers be the object, we should choose 



2() 



MRS. RASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY ROOK 



the While Wyatidottes or White Plymouth Rocks. These latter 
are exceptionally line winter layers. l"'or roasters and capons, the 
I -ight Brahmas or any of the Plymouth Rocks are the favorites, 
if two breeds are wanted, we should personally prefer the White 
Le.qhorns and White Plymouth Rocks. The White Plymouth 
Rocks will i^ive the winter ci^gs and the White Leghorns the spring 
and summer eggs in great abundance, although they may not lay 
as many eggs in the winter as the White Rocks. In the early spring 
the White Rock eggs can be set for early broilers and roasters, 
while the Leghorns are doing their heaviest laying, and in April 
and May the Leghorn eggs can be set for the following season's 
eggs. In this manner there will be a constant succession of eggs 
for market, and broilers and roasters in season. Always having 
something to sell means a regular income. Something to market 
at least once a week. A poultry and egg route and the reputation 
of having none but the choicest goods to offer is the secret of 
success. 




WINNER op 

SPECIAL PRIZE- For 

BE5T SHAPED HALE 

PW VoRK • '^-^b 



EGGS FOR BREEDING 



Ilavin.i;' chosen the l>rccd which suits us l)est, let us talk on how 
to j^et the most out of that breed, for I think we are all agreed that 
if we kee]) poultry for profit, we want to make as much as we can 
out of it. Therefore, having got our fowls, we must treat them 
right. The natural instinct of a fowl is to make a nest for itself and 
raise a family of its own in the spring time. It never considers its 
owner's profit or loss; therefore to make it answer our purpose, to 
develop it into a money-maker for us, we must either change its 
nature or deceive it. We must let it imagine that it is the time of 
year for nest making and family raising. We must supply it with 
the conditions of springtime. Our own lives are artificial and the 
conditions surrounding our domestic hens are also artificial, but 
we must, if we want success, copy as far as possible Nature's ways 
with fowls and follow Nature's plans. 

Tn the spring not only do we want egg production, but we want 




Eggs for Breeding, Packed Correctly for Shipment 



good, strong fertility in our eggs. We want fertile eggs now, for 
are we not pre-arranging to have plenty of vigorous pullets to lay 
those high-priced market eggs next fall? Are we not anticipating 
sturdy cockerels to win prizes at next winter's shows, or to make 
toothsome frys or delicious roasts? 

Fertile eggs are now in order. How shall we get them? First, 
we must have vigorous and healthy parent birds; we usually have 
healthy birds in the spring of the year, for the moult is well over 
and the ailments which prevail in the fall — colds, catarrh and sore 
throats, all classed as roup — have yielded to treatment, or the vic- 
tims are no more. The chicken i)ox, which also is a fall disease, 
has about disappeared, and the birds are in good condition. 

Vigor is Necessary 
Vigor is the first requisite for fertile eggs. To have vigor, the 
hens must have exercise ; every grain they eat should be scratched 



28 MRS. RASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

or dug out of the straw or litter iu their scratchiug" peu. A hen 
that is very fat — over fat — will not have fertile eggs and will not 
have strong, sturd}^ chickens. It is neither kind nor wise to over- 
fatten your breeding- hens, but they must be fed the proper food for 
fertility. How can we decide what food to feed for fertility? Let 
us interrogate Nature again. The wild bird, the Gallus Bankiva 
from which sprung all our domestic fowls, lays her eggs and raises 
her young" oidy in the spring. She only has two broods of about 
thirteen eggs each, but those eggs are rarely infertile. What does 
she eat? Principally insects and the tender green grasses or small 
leaves, not much grain, for the seeds have fallen and have begun 
to sprout and grow. 

During the winter Nature has supplied the birds with grains in 
plenty, so they have put on fat to withstand the cold ; but now there 
are only a few grains left and the fowls are becoming thinner, yet 
Nature does not starve them, only gradually changes the ration and 
gives them worms and larvae, insects of all kinds, for the insect life 
has also commenced to pulsate and develop ; the buds are bursting, 
too, and the tender green appears and beautiful spring is here, pro- 
viding all the green food they can eat. How about our captive 
hens? In our bare back yards, with only the ration we choose to 
give them? Poor things; they have a natural craving for the tender 
green, a wild desire for the succulent insect or animal food ! See, 
how they will fight over or scramble for the meat that is thrown 
to them, or for the head of lettuce ! They try to tell us in their 
own way what they require to produce fertile eggs at this season 
of the year. 

How to Feed 

How shall we follow their teachings? Increase the amount of 
their animal food and give the breeding fovv'ls more green food. 
How shall we do this? Increase gradually whatever animal food 
we are now feeding until from 20 to 30 per cent of their daily food 
is animal food. The best animal food is fresh meat of some kind ; 
the scraps and bones left over at the market ; this ground or chopped 
finely is the best I know of. Ral^bits, squirrels, gophers, are all 
good fresh meat. If fresh meat cannot be obtained, you can get at 
the poultry supply houses granulated milk, dried blood, blood and 
bone, beef-scrap and other animal food. The best green food is 
fresh-cut clover lawn cli])i)ings, green alfalfa, lettuce, cabbage and 
other vegetables. 

The Male Bird 

The male bird is considered as half the pen. The germ or seed 
of life of the future chicken is from the male. Be sure to have the 
male vigorous and healthy, and see to it that he gets sufficient food 
of the right quality. The male l)ird is often so gallant that he calls 
up his wives and they greedily eat all the best part of the food, 
choosing first the meat or animal part, which is the most necessary 
for fertility, and the husband, the failur nf future chicks, on which 
so nuicli flcpends, is half slarxcd, ])ecomcs thin and light. Every 



EGGS FOR BREEDING 



29 



male bird when being- used to fertilize eggs should be fed extra, 
either in a pen or eorner by himself, or out of your hand at least 
once a day. 

Mating 

In mating up the i)ens I have found the most satisfactory num- 
ber to mate is about eight or not over ten females of the American 
breeds to one male. From twelve to fifteen of the Leghorns or 
Mediterranean birds, and from six to eight of the Asiatic class to 
one male. Some breeders advocate using two male birds in one 
pen, alternating them day about, or three male birds for two pens, 
allowing one bird to rest every second or third day. I never did 
this, because 1 was keeping a pedigree of my fowls, and never found 
any necessity for it. 

Caring for Fertile Eggs 

Having the fertility assured, the next thing is to take care of the 
eggs from the time they are laid until incubation begins. Eggs 
should be kept in a moderately cool, quiet place ; not in a draught. 
I always imitate Nature and turn the eggs, just as a hen would, 
every day, keeping them in a box either in the cellar or a large, 
dark, but airy, chxsct. Some people keep them in fillers with the 
little end down, but I ])refcr following Nature's ways and leaving 
them on their side. 

To Choose Eggs for Hatching 

To choose the eggs for hatching 1 use an egg tester or I roll up 
a copy of the Pacific Poultry Craft in the shape of a telescope, put- 
ting the egg at one end in the sun and my eye at the other end. If 
the egg shell is speckled or thin at one end, or has thin blotches on 
it, or is missha])en in any way, or if it feels chalky to the touch, 1 
reject that egg, relegating it to the kitchen, for these eggs will not 
hatch. I also reject very small eggs, as they are laid by pullets or 
by over-fat hens and if they hatch, the chickens will be weaklings. 
The very large eggs should also be rejected, as they may have 
double yolks, and these seldom hatch healthy chickens. Above all, 
never sell for hatching eggs those as described above. The best 
eggs are the egg-sha])ed eggs, with good, firm, smnolh shells and 
not narrow waisted. 




EGGS FOR MARKET 



The hen in her wild stale lays about thirty eggs per year. The 
farmer's average hen lays not over one hundred. On egg farms 
the a\crage is 150, and some of the fowls of the "bred to lay" strains 
will average even more. 

There are 365 days in the year, and 1 do not see why a pullet that 
is fully matured, that comes from an egg-laying strain, a pullet 
properly fed and cared for, should not lay over 200 eggs per year ; 
in fact, I have had hens that will do even better than that. 1 will 
admit that a hen will not lay 200 eggs a year without constant and 
intelligent care, and the question confronting us is, will the addi- 
tional number of eggs pay for this care? Also how shall we give 
this care and secure these results? 

You hear of heredity and pedigree in cows, in horses, in dogs. 
Heredity is as important with hens as with any other stock. Here- 
dity has as much to do with the success of hens as the right hand- 
ling. Heredity (or pedigree) and handling must go together. The 
two-hundred-egg hen must be "bred to lay." She must come from 
an egg-producing family. No matter how scientifically a hen is 
fed, or how well housed, you cannot make an extra fine layer out of 
one wiiose parents for generations past have been poor layers. It is 
impossible to take a Hock of mongrels and scrubs and get 200 eggs 
each a year from them, although good handling" w'ill greatly increase 
the yield of even mongrels. 

The dift'erent breeds require different handling, but no matter 
what breed you have, there are three essentials to egg production — 
comfort, exercise and proper food. 

Comfort 
Under the head of comfort comes first of all cleanliness. .\ hen 
that has lice, or fleas, or mites, or ticks on her cannot la}' her full 
amount of eggs. You must help the hen in her efforts to make you 
money. Give her every encouragement to lay. Cleanliness every- 
where. A comfortable, enticing nest, rather dark, where she may 
stealthily deposit her precious egg. Renew wdth nice clean straw 
once a month. Do everything to coax the hens to lay. If trap- 
nests are used, there should be enough of them so that the hens 
will not be kept waiting, for by keeping a hen oft" the nest she will 
frequently retain her egg until the next day, and will soon learn to 
be a poor layer. Cleanliness means a clean, sweet-smelling roost- 
ing place, where she may sleep undisturbed by lice or mites. Just 
think for a moment how in the human family a fresh, clean bed in 
a quiet room will court slumber. I have passed the night in an 
.Arab's tent in Africa that was infested with fleas, and my heart is 
full of sympathy for a hen that has to live in some of the mite- 
infested henneries I have seen in California. Under this head comes 
freedom from draughts. A draught in this country will give hu- 
man beings face ache, neuralgia, earache and a swelled face. It has 
exactly the same eff'ect on hens. Influenza, swelled head, roup, al- 



EGGS FOR MARKET 31 

ways or almost always commence from a draught (combined with 
lice). Comfort means also pure, fresh air without any draught, and 
pure, fresh water to drink. 

Exercise 

You know how in the human family exercise is recommended. 
Physical culture, gymnastics, Ralston exercises, Swedish move- 
ments, fencing, etc., and those who may be too feeble to exercise for 
themselves, pay others to rub, pound and knead or massage them to 
get the same effect. 

Exercise is as necessary for the hen as for the human being and 
more so, for the hen's exercise of scratching develops the egg pro- 
ducing organs and strengthens them, and hens which exercise lay 
many more eggs than lazy hens. If you have a vigorous scratcher 
among your hens, you may be sure she is a good layer. 

Exercise a hen must have to develop the egg-making organs. 
She absolutely must scratch if she is to make a living for herself 
and you. I consider a scratching pen as necessary for hens in con- 
finement as food. My scratching pens were twelve or fifteen feet 
long and eight feet wide, but in small yards I have made very satis- 
factory little pens by nailing four boards six feet long together, 
forming a square. The boards should be twelve inches wide and 
the pen filled with wheat straw or alfalfa hay or any good litter. 
I do not like barley straw on account of the beards, which some- 
times run into the hen's eyes, nostrils, or mouth and cause death. 
Foxtails, burr clover and wild oats are all dangerous on this ac- 
count. 

I feed all the grain scattered over the straw and my hens scratch 
and dig happily all day long. The straw or hay is soon broken 
into short pieces and fresh straw must be added about once a week, 
and the whole cleaned out and used for mulching trees when the 
straw becomes dirty. This will depend upon the size of the pen and 
the number of hens using it. 

Proper Food 

What it is and how much to give. The scientists tell us that 
the proper food or the "balanced ration" is composed of one part 
of protein to four parts of carbo-hydrates. Before discussing this 
"balanced ration," let us interrogate Nature and find out how a hen 
balances her own ration. , 

Let us take a hen as she comes in from foraging in the fields 
after a long day in summer. Let us kill her and examine her crop. 
What do we find? Grains of wheat, barley, corn, according to 
where her rambles have led her ; bits of grass, clover and vege- 
tables ; some bugs, worms and grasshoppers ; here and there a bit 
of gravel and a lot of matter partially digested that we cannot 
recognize. The first thing that impresses us is that the hen likes 
variety, and the second thing that this variety consists of animal 
food (bugs, worms, insects), grains and green food. This is the 
"balanced ration," balanced by the hen herself to suit her needs in 
the summer time when eggs are plentiful. If we want eggs in the 



32 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

winter, we must, as far as possible, give the same conditions, the 
same variety of foods, with plenty of pure, fresh water, never for- 
getting that about seventy per cent of the egg is water. 

But to return to the "balanced ration." We know that a hen 
requires a certain amount of food to keep her alive and thriving; 
above that the surplus goes either to making the egg inside her or 
to making fat. 

The hen is an egg-making machine, but if you put into that ma- 
chine none of the elements of the egg, you cannot expect the 
machine to turn out eggs. 

Therefore, the scientists analyzed the egg, and not only that, but 
also analyzed the body of the hen with the feathers, and discovered 
as follows : The very large number of dififerent substances found in 
the hen may be grouped under four heads: 1, water; 2, ash or 
mineral matter ; 3, protein (or nitrogenous matter) ; 4, fat. The 
]>roportion of each of these groups alter with the condition of the 
hen. Water is the largest ingredient and amounts to from forty to 
sixty per cent of the weight of the bird. Ash or mineral matter 
forms from three to six per cent when the hen is not laying, and 
from six to ten per cent when laying. The groups called protein 
constitute from fifteen to thirty per cent of the weight. Fat seldom 
falls below six or rises above thirty per cent. 

The feathers are composed of protein and ash. the ash being 
largely silicate of potash and lime. 

The accompanying analysis of the hen, pullet and egg has been 
kindly sent to me by Professor Jafifa ; that of the egg was made by 
him at the University Laboratory of California. 

Analysis of Hen and Egg 

Typical Pullet in Capon, 

Leghorn full laying, Plymouth Eggs as Eggs, edil)le 

Hen Leghorn Rock Purchased Portion 

Water 56.8 57.4 41.6 65.6 73.7 

Protein 21.6 21.2 19.4 11.8 13.3 

Ash 3.8 3.4 3.7 .7 .8 

Fat 17.8 18.0 35.3 10.8 12.2 

Shell ... ... 11.1 

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 

Composition of Hen and Egg 

Calculated on a Water-free Basis 

Protein 50.0 49.8 34.3 50.5 

Fat 41.2 42.2 31.4 46.4 

Ash 8.8 8.0 2.1 3.1 

Shell ... 32.2 

Total 100.0 100,0 100.0 100.0 

It is interesting to compare the analysis of the hen and egg with 
some of our grains and poultry foods, but it would take more time 
than is permissable in a short talk. In all our grains are found more 
or less the elements of the egg, but they are not in the right or 



EGGS FOR MARKET 



33 



proper proportion for making the egg. There is usually too much 
of the fattening element in the grains and not enough protein or 
nitrogenous element, which forms the meat, muscle, bone and 
feather. This is the most valuable and most expensive part of the 
ration. 

In order to keep up the strength of the hen and have her produce 
the largest amount of eggs, it has been found that for every pound 
of protein in the food, she must have four pounds of carbo hydrates. 
This will vary slightly according to the heat of the weather and the 
needs of the hen. 

I wish I could go more fully into this interesting and important 
subject, but space forbids it. I would urge you to send a postal to 
the University of California at Berkeley, asking for the h'armer's 
Bulletin No. 164 on Poultry Feeding. 'J^his bulletin, by Professor 
Jaffa, is one of the most valuable bulletins ever published. It con- 
tains the analysis of the different grains, vegetables and meats and 
of most of the ])r()prietary foods, besides formulas for the best 
rations. 





_^.-^^r^_# - .:..*_ !Tcl1«.J."'W"^5 



Roseneath Ranch Long Breeding House 



THE FEEDING PROBLEM 



The three essentials of egg production, the three essentials of 
profit in poultry keeping, the three essentials for vigor and health 
in fowls are — comfort, exercise and proper food. 

Let us consider (1) the proper food, (2) the methods of feeding 
it, and (3) recipes for a few tried balanced rations. 

Practical knowledge and skill in feeding can be acquired without 
the study of science. Feeding fowls for good results is a com- 
paratively simple matter. 

Requirements in Feeding 

The food which a fowl consumes has three chief functions to 
perform: (1) to sustain life, promote life, repair waste and produce 
eggs ; (2) to keep the body warm ; (3) to furnish strength or energy 
which is expended in every movement. The fowl is also able to 
store food, not needed at the time it is eaten, for future use ; this 
store is chiefly in the form of fat, which serves as a reserve supply 
of fuel. 

Food Elements 

To supply the three functions in the life of a fowl there are three 
principal food elements : Proteins, carbo-hydrates and fat ; all of 
these are contained in the different grains and foods used for 
poultry. 

(1) Proteids (or protein) albuminous or nitrogenous matter. 
Protein is the nourishing matter, the principal tissue former, sup- 
plying material for bone, muscle, blood, feathers, eggs. Its latent 
energy can also be converted into heat and energy ; but it is more 
costly for such purposes than the non-nitrogenous foods. 

(2) Carbo-hydrates, carbonaceous matter, starches and sugar. 
Carbo-hydrates form the bulk in nearly all foods and are the prin- 
cipal sources of heat and energy. 

(3) Fats are found in almost all foods. They furnish heat and 
energy' in addition to the supply from the carbo-hydrates. Fat also 
enters largely into the composition of the yolk of the egg. 

All three food elements are necessary. The proper combin- 
ations of these three is called the ''balanced ration." It is, in 
other words, a "complete" ration, containing in proper proportions 
the necessary food elements to promote (1) growth, including egg 
production, (2) warmth, and (3) energy or strength. The needs 
of a fowl's system are not always the same ; it does not always 
need the different elements to be in the same proportions ; the ra- 
tion properly balanced (or suitable) for a growing chick would be 
unbalanced (unsuitable) for the mature hen. The food to be a 
balanced ration must be adapted to the present needs of the fowl. 

Methods of Feeding 

The question of how to ivvd and what to teed for the best results 
in egg production, is the most difficult problem in poultry keeping, 
and has for S(,)nic time been engaging the attention of the various 



THE FEEDING PROBLEM 35 

Government Experiment Stations in this and other countries. The 
two successful systems in use at the present time are the Mash 
system and the Dry Feed system. 

The mash system is one in which a mash is fed once or twice a 
day. The foundation of the mash is bran, middHngs, and corn meal 
or chops. It is mixed wet, raw, scalded or cooked. The dry feed 
system is when a dry mash is fed, consisting' of the same ingredients 
as the wet mash, but dry. Dry feeding is used by many regularly, 
and is becoming more popular every year. 

The advantages of a mash are that by its means the food ration 
for the whole day can be properly balanced ; the nutritive ratio 
varied and controlled and the waste vegetables and table leavings 
utilized to the best advantage. 

In mash feeding the errors to be avoided are : Too concentrated 
a mash with too much meat or fat ; too light or bulky, that is, 
composed principally of bran or hay ; too wet or sloppy or sour 
or mouldy. Experience has shown that feeding wet mashes more 
than once a day has bad effects, producing indigestion in various 
forms. 

The advantages of the dry-feed system are : A saving of labor to 
the feeder, is lighter to handle and much easier to mix. It can be 
fed in the morning. The fowls are obliged to eat it slowly; they 
cannot swallow it in a few minutes. It will not freeze in cold 
weather nor become sour in hot weather, and the fowls will not 
over-eat with the dry feed. 




mm 



iTfinfT 




An Excellent Feed Hopper. Good Both for Young and Old Fowls 

These hoppers are made 8 feet long and the trough is 8 inches wide 

and 4 inches deep, with a projecting strip on top J/2 inch to keep the 

chicks from pulling out the feed. The slats are 3 inches apart. 

The chief consideration in dry-feeding is that fowls require about 
three times as much water to drink as with the wet mash ; also 
unless the dry food is placed in hoppers or fed in boxes at least 
four inches deep, it is apt to be wasted. The two systems supply 
the requirements of the fowls in slightly different ways and both 
are used very successfully. 

SAMPLE RATIONS 

The rations here given have been tested and proved excellent by 
some of the most successful poultry breeders in this country. 



36 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

Ration for Chicks Intended for Breeders 
First meal, when chicks are 36 hours old : Rolled or tlakc break- 
fast oats, dry; give scattered on sand every three hours, then fooil 
chick food. This is a number of small or broken dry strains which 
can be bought at the poultry supply houses. The use of hard grain 
diet like chick feed, develops the digestive organs and keeps them 
healthy. The chick feed prepared by reliable firms is excellent. 
For those who prefer to mix their own chick feed, the following 
is a good recipe : Cracked wheat, 30 pounds ; steel-cut or rolled 
breakfast oats, 30 pounds; finely cracked corn, 15 pounds; millet, 
rice, pearl barley, rape seed, finely ground beef scraps or granulated 
milk, dried granulated bone, chick grit. 10 pounds; granulated char- 
coal, 5 pounds. In the chick feeds wheat, oats and corn are the 
staples, the most necessary part of the ration. Feed at 6 a.ui. 
chick feed scattered in chafT; 9 a.m. rolled or steel-cut oats; 11 
a.m. green lettuce; 1 p.m. chick feed; 3 p.m. green feed, lettuce, 
clover or potatoes chopped fine; 4:30 p.m. hard boiled eggs (4 for 
100 chicks), chopped shell and all. with the same amoinit of onions 
and twice the amount of bread crumbs or rolled oats or Johnny- 
cake. One fountain of skim milk and one of clean water always 
before them and renewed three times a day. Very coarse sand and 
granulated charcoal should be always before them. 

Toward the end of the second week mix a little whole wheat, 
hulled oats and kaffir corn with the chick food, gradually increasing 
it. until at the end of the sixth week they will be eating this eutircly. 

Ration for Broilers 

For the first two weeks use the same feed as given for the breed- 
ers. Third week, 6 a.m. chick feed; 9 a.m. mash, 1 part each of 
bran, cornmeal and rolled oats, and a little salt; mix with skim 
milk, making a crumbly dry feed in a small dish or trough, taking 
away all there is left in fifteen minutes; 11 a.m. lettuce or clover; 
1 p.m. rolled oats; 3 p.m. chopped raw potatoes; 4:30 p.m. mash 
same as in the morning. Fourth week, 6 a.m. chick feed; a.m. 
mash, adding 5 per cent beef scraps or cracklings ; 1 p.m. chopped 
potatoes; 4:30 p.m. mash, same as in the morning. Keep grit and 
charcoal always before them, with skim milk and pure water. Fin- 
ish off at six to eight weeks by gradually adding from five t(^ ten 
per cent of cotton-seed meal and a little molasses with the mash. 

Ration for Laying Hens 

In order to keep up the strength of the hen and have her ]iroduce 
the largest amount of eggs, it has been found that for every pound 
of protein in the food she must have four pounds of carbo-hydrates. 
Many instances may be cited in which the rations fed to laying hens 
differed greatly, but have been productive of excellent results, pro- 
vided they contain a sufficient quantity of digestible protein. The 
following rations have proven successful : 

I will give a formula that I have used for many years after ex- 
perimenting with others, and will give some that are being used 



THE FEEDING PROBLEM 37 

at the present time by prominent and successful breeders near 
here. There are many other breeders, but I happen to have these 
by me and have not those of the others. The Basley formula is as 
follows : By measure, 2 parts heavy bran, 1 part alfalfa meal, 1 
[)art corn meal, 1 part oatmeal (called Breakfast Flaked Oats), 1 
part beef scraps or meat meal or granulated milk, a little pepper and 
salt; keep this in a hopper or feed box. At noon green feed. In 
the evening' grain, wheat, kaffir corn or cracked corn, barley, hulled 
oats, equal parts, mixed and scattered in straw in the scratching 
pen. Fresh water constantly before them ; if they run out of 
water, the egg yield will stop. I keep before the fowls at all times 
sharj) grit, crushed oyster shells, charcoal and granulated dried bone. 
At moulting time I add to the grain sunflower seed, and to the 
dry mash linseed meal. The reason I feed oatmeal is that I always 
feed for vigor. I want the parent birds to be vigorous and the 
eggs to have such an amount of protein in them that the chicks 
will not fail in being vigorous. There is no food equal to oats for 
giving vigor. The reason I feed alfalfa is that although it shows 
on analysis almost the same protein content as bran, it gives the 
yolk of the eggs a rich orange hue which bran fails to impart. All 
fowls need plenty of green food and clean water. The green food 
is the cheapest food you can give and keeps the digestive organs 
in good condition. Green food must be given daily with the fol- 
lowing : 

Rations of Successful Breeders 

Wilcox Standard Mash — 50 lbs. heavy wheat bran, 20 lbs. corn 
meal, 14 lbs. ground barley, 5 lbs. oil cake or cotton-seed meal, 
10 lbs. beef scrap, 1 lb. fine charcoal. 

Johnson Formula — 80 lbs. wheat bran, 15 lbs. alfalfa meal, 15 
lbs. cracked raw bone, 1 pint of home-made condiment. 

Bickford Dry Mash — One part corn meal, 1 part middlings, 2 
parts heavy wheat bran, 1-10 part meat or blood meal, 1-10 cot- 
ton-seed meal, a good handful of salt to one hundred pounds. 

Goodacre Standard Mash — Ten lbs. wheat bran, 2 lbs. corn 
meal, 2 lbs. fine meat meal, 1 lb. linseed meal. 

Walton's Dry ]\lash — 12 parts wheat bran, 4 parts corn meal, 
2 parts beef scrap, 2 parts alfalfa meal, 2 parts granulated milk, }^ 
part charcoal. 

Cowles Dry Mash — One part each of corn, wheat and barley 
ground up together. To 80 lbs. of the above add 5 lbs. of blood 
meal, 5 lbs. of bone meal, 10 lbs. of meat meal and a little charcoal. 

For One Dozen Hens 

Rations for one dozen breeding hens, American class, in con- 
finement, for three days' rotation. 

Monday morning — One pint and a half grain, wheat, cracked 
corn and hulled oats, equal parts mixed and scattered in straw or 
litter in scratching pen. Noon : Cut clover or lawn clippings. Even- 
ing: Mash, 1 pt. heavy bran; 1 qt. ground oats; 1 pt. corn meal; 1-3 



38 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



of the whole cut clover or alfalfa meal; 1 tablesponnfnl each of salt 
and pulverized charcoal ; y^ pt. beef scraps. 

Tuesday morning — lj^> pts. mixed grain, wheat and rolled barley. 
Noon: green feed, pumpkins or clover; 1 pt. green cut bone. Even- 
ing: Mash, 1 pt, cooked vegetables and table scraps, 1 qt. bran, 1 pt. 
cornmeal, a little salt and pepper. 

Wednesday morning — Xy^ pt. mixed grain; wheat, hulled oats, 
kafifir corn. Noon: Cabbage or beets. Evening: Mash, 1 pt. peas 
or beans soaked over night, boiled with a little soda until soft ; Yz 
pt. dried blood, or beefscraps, 1-3 cut clover. If you cannot get 
beans cheaply, use potatoes or other vegetables. 

I'\")llow the same system the remaining three days. 

Sunday, instead of the mash, scald three pints of rolled barley 
in the morning, cover and leave to steam. Eeed in the evening in- 
stead of the mash ; this makes a pleasant change and saves work for 
the Sabbath. 

The reason for feeding the mash at night is to keep the hens 
busy scratching all day and so send them to roost with their crops 
full. There is danger of the American and Asiatic fowls becoming 
too fat and lazy without exercise if given the mash in the morning. 

Fattening Fow^ls 

Eowls to be fattened should be confined in small yards or in 
coops or crates, especially adapted for feeding. The object in keep- 
ing them in confinement is to prevent the forming of muscle and 
sinew, which would occur if allowed to run at liberty. 

The crate used for fattening fowls can be four or six feet long. 
Mine were composed of lath six feet long; the frame of the crate 




^ ^|»^»^l^»^^^ff.1l^lmH.^^l^^m,^.^»^^l^»l.»^mu«^l.l»»l^u^»^mM^^»l^ll^llAm^^^ ^v^T^^^ 



Three-Compartment Fattening Crate 



is 6 feet long, 18 inches wide and 18 inches high, divided into six 
little stalls or compartments. The frame is covered with lath, 
placed lengthwise on the bottom, back and top the width of one 
lath a])arl. The first lath on the bottom should be two inches from 
the back to allow the droppings to fall through, otherwise they 
would lodge on the lath at the back. The lath are placed up and 



THE FEEDING PROBLEM 39 

down in the front, the spaces between them being two inches wide 
to enable the chickens to feed from the trough. A "V" shaped 
trough is made to fit into two notches in cleats in front of each 
crate. The crate stands 15 inches from the ground; the droppings 
are received on sand or other absorbent material and removed daily. 
The coop is large enough to hold 12 or 18 young chicks (2 or 3 in a 
stall) or six full grown fowls. Fowls are fed three times a day all 
they will eat in 15 minutes. 

See cut of fattening crate. 

Formulas for fattening: 

(1) Equal parts of bran, cornmeal and oat meal (rolled break- 
fast oats) mixed with skim milk, fed three times a day. 

(2) Buckwheat flour, pulverized oats, cornmeal in equal parts, 
mixed thin with buttermilk. 

(3) Equal parts barley meal and oat meal and a half part of 
cornmeal, mixed with buttermilk or skim milk. 

(4) A favorite French combination is two parts barley meal, 
one part cornmeal, one part buckwheat flour. 

A little salt and coarse sand should be added to their food. Three 
weeks is the length of time to continue the feeding. Chickens do 
not seem to be able to stand the confinement for a greater length 
of time. The last week of the fattening process, five per cent of 
cotton seed meal and a little tallow may be added to any of the 
above formulas. 

Feeding Beans 

Our readers know our "Rule of three"'- — or the three essentials 
of egg production — Comfort, Exercise and Proper Food, and how 
very necessary each of this trio is for filling the egg basket. 

The successful poultry breeders, those that are really making 
money in the poultry or egg business, all and each follow our Rule 
of three. Some put more emphasis on one of the three conditions, 
and some on the other, but I find the man that uses all three essen- 
tials about evenly balanced is the successful man. 

Just at present there are several of our readers who are seek- 
ing for advice on the problem of the proper food and have appealed 
to me for information about the use of beans and some other foods 
which are available or cheap in their locality. I would like to 
help them discuss this subject together with the different breeds 
they are feeding. 

We all know that food is first necessary to sustain life, to enable 
the young fowls to grow and make their feathers, while it also 
enables the mature fowls to rtiake and produce eggs. We have 
learnt that the body of the hen and the egg also is composed of 
water, mineral matter, nitrogenous matter and fat, and that to sus- 
tain life and growth and to produce eggs, the hen must be supplied 
with these elements. It is exceedingly interesting to learn the 
right proportion of these different elements that have to be supplied 
to the hen, all of which may be found in the analysis of the different 
foods given in the valuable bulletin "Poultry Feeding and Proprie- 



40 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

tary Foods," by Professor Jaffa of the University of California. 
The third edition of this bulletin is now in the press. 

Professor Rice of Cornell, in one of his lectures, says, "Feeding 
poultry is a science and an art." The science is in the knowing- 
why, and the art is in the knowing how to do it. Our Professor 
Jaffa divides the food (this is the science part) into three classes : 
The protein, carbo-hydrates and fat. lie explains that the word 
protein comes from a Greek word which means the chief thing — 
or the first thing — and the protein is the most important part of the 
food, for by it is made or produced the bone, muscle, blood, nerves, 
tendons, etc. The protein or nitrogenous matter of the hen's body 
and of the egg is formed by the nitrogenous matter (the protein) 
that is fed to the hen or that she finds in hunting on the range for 
her food, so any one can see how important this element is in the 
food. 

The carbonaceous part of the food, which includes the fat and 
carbo-hydrates (sugar and starch), is mainly used as a fuel supply 
to the body and is the substance which is consumed in the pro- 
duction of heat and energy. We know or have learnt that an 
active fowl, such as a Leghorn that is always on the move, scratch- 
ing, running, flying, uses up more of the fat-producing food than a 
quieter, tamer, heavier fowl, such as the Plymouth Rock or Wyan- 
dotte or one of the Asiatics. 

The scientists have analyzed the food as well as the hen and 
have decided that a hen requires as a balanced ration for egg pro- 
duction one pound of protein to four pounds of carbo-hydrates, and 
we believe this and act on it by giving the hens animal food, green 
food and grain. We also want to get the food as cheaply as possi- 
ble to save our pocketbooks, and yet give the hens food that will 
bring the best results, this is usually eggs when eggs are dearest. 

The protein is the most expensive part of the food, consequently 
when we find a food that is inexpensive but contains a large amount 
of protein, we are glad to buy it, and then we must find out how to 
mix it or with what other food in order to get the right balance 
of one part of protein to 4 or 4.5 of carbo-hydrates. A ration means 
the food for a whole day. 

I am always glad to talk over the different foods and to help 
beginners decide what is the best and cheapest food for them to 
use in their locality. Several have lately asked about BEANS, 
how to feed them to the best advantage. Some years ago I had an 
opportunity of buying a large quantity of navy beans that had 
been held as seed beans but several sacks of them had become 
weevily. 1 studied Professor Jaffa's bulletin and decided that it 
would be a good plan to buy them, thinking that as they were small, 
the hens would eat them, but my hens did not take to them at 
first, so I sent the beans to the mill and had them coarsely ground, 
and I then soaked them over night with a little bicarbonate of soda 
in the water, and the next morning when the fire was lighted for 
breakfast, I put on the beans and let them cook at the back of the 
stove, taking them oft" at noon and mixing in bran and cornmeal. 



THE FEEDING PROBLEM 41 

also a little alfalfa meal, and seasoning with salt and pepper as for 
the table. The hens like this mash made of bean soup, and never 
hens laid better than these. It was certainly a famous egg food. 
Recently I received letters from several of our readers asking 
about feeding beans, and I replied, giving Professor Jaffa's analysis, 
but I afterwards received a letter asking me for the analysis and 
the value of "broad Windsor beans," and as there was no analysis 
of them in the bulletin, I sent some of them to the Agricultural 
College to have them analyzed. Professor Jafifa not only analyzed 
them, but also analyzed some "horse beans," as I said that Windsor 
beans were sometimes called horse beans and were largely fed to 
horses in some places. The horse beans that he bought were 
larger than the W^indsor beans that I sent him and he found both 
of them so exceedingly rich in protein, that to be certain there was 
no mistake, he had the analysis duplicated, done over twice. 

Analysis of Horse Beans 

Per cents 

Water 14.05 

Ash 2.10 

Protein 25.10 

Fat 1.60 

Fiber 6.63 

Starch, etc 50.52 

Total 100.00 

Analysis of Windsor Beans 

Per cents 

Water 10.98 

Ash 3.02 

Protein 18.80 

Fat 1.58 

Fiber 6.65 

Starch, etc 58.97 

Total 100.00 

Analysis of Navy Beans 

Per cents 

Water 12.60 

Ash 3.50 

Protein 22.50 

Fat 1.80 

Fiber 4.40 

Starch, etc 55.20 

Total 100.00 

It will be seen by these analyses how rich in protein are the 
beans, and therefore what a valuable food for fowls. Realizing the 
value of this, in order to help other of our readers, I wrote to 
A. A. W. for further information about the beans he had sent me, 
and received the following reply : 

"The beans are commonly known in England fwhere they are 
very popular) as 'broad Windsor Keans,' but to the best of my 



42 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

remembrance these are a smaller species. I raised these here on 
rich soil apparently high in nitrogen, judging by the rank top 
growth of various crops planted therein ; the vines averaged a height 
ot over seven feet, which is more than double that claimed for them 
by the seedsmen, who do not usually underestimate the vigor and 
proliticacy of their well advertised goods. 1 have a copy of your 
poultry book and believe 1 have derived much profit from it, as I 
am raising broilers and feeding them entirely according to your di- 
rections* ; some of them weigh close on to two pounds each, and 
none of them are over six weeks and four days old, raised in brooder 
coops without hens or artificial heat, but with the best possible 
care and attention to details, and with less loss than I expected, as 
this is my first experience of this way of raising them. May 1 
trouble you to inform me of the best method of feeding the beans 
to chicks of various ages, as I have others at different stages. I 
have fed them occasionally to month old chicks in small quantities 
by soaking until the skins will slip, then chopping" up fine with 
bran to make a crumbly mash. I would much like to know if this 
is a good combination or otherwise, and how best and when to feed, 
and the proportion of beans, and whether chopped up dry, soaked 
or cooked. 

"My idea in discarding the skins is that being very tough and 
leathery, they might possibly be indigestible." 

In reply to this, the skins are very tough, that is, the skins 
of both horse beans and Windsor beans, and it was a wise precau- 
tion to take them oft' for the little chicks, but that would scarcely 
be possible or profitable if you arc feeding much to mature hens, as 
it would take too much time and labor. 

In feeding either old or young you can make one-fifth of the 
food of the beans if you have plenty of them, but I would advise 
not more than that. Your way of mixing the chopped-up beans 
with bran and milk is good, but I would suggest adding a little 
cornmeal about one-fifth of the amount of the mash. This would 
be a better balanced mash. As you have had such good results 
from following my instructions and formula for feeding broilers, 
I think you had better continue it and not make any change, or if 
for any good reason you are obliged to make a change in the food 
make the change very gradually, that is, add only a few spoonsful 
of the new food each day until at the end of about two weeks you 
have got them to willingly accept the new food. A sudden change 
of almost any kind will stop the egg out-put partially or sometimes 
totally. You have to remember there is a dift'erence between va- 
riety, which is excellent for fowls, and change, which almost in- 
variably results disastrously. 

The best way to feed the beans (W^indsor or horse beans) would 
be to have them ground and feed them in the dry mash for all the 
chickens, large or small; for the very little fellows nothing" could be 
better than the way you are now doing. 

When I received this letter I wrote to a successful poultryman 

*See page 36. 



THE FEEDING PROBLEM 



43 



and egg farmer, who has been feeding beans for sometime very 
successfully, and I copy his letter for the benefit especially of those 
residing in bean-growing districts, where beans can be often bought 
very cheaply. The writer can be thoroughly relied upon as to 
accuracy. 

"Your cordial letter reached us today, and T take pleasure in 
answering your questions concerning our use of beans for hens. 

"The variety we used and are still using is what is called here 
the black-eyed bean. I think it is called 'cow peas' in some parts of 
the country. The flavor of this bean is more like that of the pea 
than of the bean. For a long time we fed them whole, with corn, 
wheat and whole barley, equal parts of each. The hens ate them 
as readily as they did the other grains, except wheat. 

"We fed it also in the mash, with ground barley, cornmeal and 
beans, about equal parts of each. We found that our hens increased 
their egg productoin about twenty per cent. 

These beans are rich in protein, about 22%, and are about 85% 
digestible, so you will see that fed with wheat, corn and barley 
they are a valuable addition to the dietary of hens. If we could 
get these beans, we should continue their use, but we are unable 
to get any more of them. If you know where they can be had for a 
reasonable price, we should be pleased to have you inform us. 
I have no doubt that hens could be induced to eat lima beans, at 
least in the mash, as you know lima beans are rich in protein, but 
possibly may not be as digestible as the black-eye. I hope this 
information may be of use to you." 

In this article we give the scientific side, the analysis of three 
kind of beans, and also the practical use of them by three different 
poultry breeders. " This will answer several other incjuiries on the 
subject, and we hope prove useful to many of our readers. 




Buff Orpington 



SPROUTING OATS 
By W. S. Willis 



The following' method of sprouting- oats has been kindly sent 
to the author by Mr. W. S. Willis, of the celebrated Arlinc^ton Egg 
■Ranch. Mr. Willis has found the sprouted oats a splendid addition 
to the hen!s ration, lending variety to the daily bill of fare and in- 
creasing the egg output. 

Three quarts of oats will make a fine morning meal for 100 hens 
if properly sprouted. 

Place the grain in a pail and let it soak for twenty-four hours ; 
then transfer it to a box one foot square and six inches deep, with 
a few small drainage holes in the bottom. 

Sprinkle with water daily and allow the grain to remain in the 
box until the sprouts are from two to three inches in length, at 
which time it will be ready to feed. 

As it takes from eight to ten days to secure the proper growth, 
a number of boxes or compartments should be provided for the 
grain, keeping each day's allowance separate, and a new lot should 
be started daily. 

For larger flocks of course it is necessary to increase the size of 
the boxes — a day's feed for 600 hens, for instance, requiring a 
sprouting space of two by three feet. 

In all cases care should be taken not to have the grain over two 
inches deep when placed in boxes, in order to guard against heating 
and mildew. 

The boxes should be placed in a level position and kept covered 
with a board or burlap, in order to keep the grain in a moist condi- 
tion. 

Tn cold weather the sprouting operations should be conducted in 
comfortably warm quarters, and warm water may sometimes be 
used to advantage in sprinkling the grain. 

Redwood is better than pine to use in making the sprouting 
boxes, being less liable to swell and crack when water soaked. 

Should it be impossible to get oats that will grow well, barley 
may be substituted, but it may be found necessary to stir the 
barley until it begins to sprout, to prevent fermentation. 




Black Orpington Hen 



BREEDING, LINE-BREEDING, IN-BREEDING, ETC. 



The subject of breeding for best results in the poultry yard is 
exceedingly interesting, and is being developed more and more 
every year, not only by poultry breeders, but I believe, by some of 
the government experiment stations. 

There is "in-breeding," "line-breeding," "out-breeding," "cross- 
breeding," and no breeding at all. 

Many people are afraid of in-breeding. By this is usually 
meant breeding brother and sister together for generations, without 
the infusion of new blood . This kind of in-breeding is very apt 
to result disastrously, because in such a flock the best, biggest 
and most vigorous are sent to the market, and the inferior ones are 
kept at home for breeders, unless a neighbor steps in and lends a 
cockerel to solve the difficulty. 

For fear of the flock deteriorating, many people think it abso- 
lutely necessary to have new blood in their flock every year, and 
here is where the danger comes in for those who are raising thor- 
ough-breds. If you buy pure-bred male of the same breed to 
mate with your pure-bred female from another strain or family, 
you may get one that will improve your flock, or one which will 
bring you disqualified birds. This getting new blood of the same 
family is called "out-breeding." J. H. Robinson says : "Most of 
the evils assigned to in-breeding are not due to in-breeding, but to 
careless selection. There is no evidence that in-breeding necessar- 
ily initiates degeneracy. There is abundant evidence that with 
proper selection for stamina to avoid common defects, very close 
in-breeding can be followed for a long time without injuring the 
stock. There is also abundant evidence that breeding unrelated 
fowls without careful attention to vigor, and avoidance of common 
defects is at once attended with precisely the same results as 
breeding fowls of near kin under the same conditions." 

In making the new breeds, in-breeding is necessary to fix the 
color, shape, etc. If it is necessary to fix superiority in color, it 
is necessary to fix it in shape. If it is necessary to fix it in shape, 
it is necessary to fix superior laying capacity, or rapid growth and 
vigor. In-breeding is necessary because there cannot be intelligent 
breeding without in-brecding. 

"Line-breeding," or breeding in line, is keeping to the same 
family, the same blood. It is very careful in-breeding. When we 
line breed we simply limit the number of ancestors in the fowl's 
pedigree. By so doing we intensify the qualities in the fowl, for 
it has been established beyond doubt that the mating of nearly 
related individuals has a tendency to intensify the traits or char- 
acteristics which they possess in common. As an example, I had 
a White Plymouth Rock hen (Snow Queen), a 95^^ point bird. 
She laid 225 eggs in 9 months. T mated her, when I discovered her 
wonderful qualities, to my first prize male. Four of her daughters 
from that mating were prize-winners. The following year I mated 
her to her best son, and the third year to her son who was also 



46 MRS. 15AS1.EVS WESTERN TOULTRY BOOK 

her grandson. By this last mating, the offspring were 15-16 of her 
blood. I sold a few settings of this mating, one to a gentleman in 
Sacramento. He wrote me afterwards that he won first cock, first 
hen and first pen at the Poultry Show, with seven of her offspring; 
but, he added, "the great recommendation to your fowls is their 
wonderful vigor and healthfulness. All my other fowls have had 
roup and chicken-pox ; in fact, 1 have lost more than half, and 
while yours were brought up with them, they seem absolutely im- 
mune to all sickness." 

Another setting of eggs I sold to a party south of town. I 
heard later than one of the hens hatched from that setting laid 105 
eggs in 110 consecutive days. By careful in-breeding it is possible 
to intensify the good qualities of great egg-laying and great vigor. 
A hen to be a great layer must have vigor. 

To illustrate what is meant by line-breeding, I would take a 
good pair or trio of the best birds procurable; raise the young, 
carefully feeding for strength and vigor. The vigor of a flock is 
sustained not by introducing new blood, but by selecting breeding 
birds for vigor. Vigorous birds beget vigorous oft'spring; weak 
birds weak offspring, whether kin or not. The second year I would 
mate the father with two of his best daughters and the best son 
back to the mother hen, and use these two families as two different 
strains for new blood, each year selecting the best from either 
family. By the best, I do not mean only the handsomest ; I mean 
among the cockerels the most vigorous, active and up-to-standard 
birds, and among the pullets the best layers as well as the earliest 
maturing, largest and handsomest. Let it be understood that to 
breed from birds because they are related without making selections 
of points desired, is as wrong as to refuse to mate related fowls. 
By breeding from only vigorous stock, and observing the rule not 
to mate fowls having the same bad defects, mating together only 
fowls which in individual merit and in pedigree (whether akin or 
no kin) are what they should be for the purpose of the mating, 
you may be sure of avoiding mistakes. 

"I am afraid of in-breeding," said a lady to me recently. "The 
book says change cockerels with your neighbor." I do not know 
from what book she was quoting, but I went to see her fowls. She 
had really fine standard bred fowls to commence with, but she had 
ruined the flock l)y trading cockerels. A friend of mine intending 
to purchase them asked me to look at them, but I could not recom- 
mend them, as I knew the offspring would not be desirable. 

Many persons wishing to purchase fowls from me (when I was 
in the business) would say. "Can you sell me two or four hens and 
a cockerel not related?" I replied that I could and would if they 
wished, as I had fifteen separate pens and marked all my young 
fowls, but if they asked me to mate for best results. I would give 
them hens from my best layers, mated to a cockerel that was partly 
related to them, for I knew then the offspring would be of as 
good quality as the i)arents. To know this takes some years of 
"close observation and close selection," which is the rule for line- 
breeding. 



BREEDING, LINE AND IN-EREEDING 47 

When I wanted new blood of late years, I would get a setting 
of eggs from the best breeder I knew. Select the two pullets from 
this brood, mate them with one of my own males, and then await 
results. Some years they would be quite satisfactory; if other- 
wise, they were consigned to the table and proved delicious eating. 
When the results were good, I had fine young ones and new blood 
which I knew would mate with mine and not deteriorate my fowls 
in regard to looks and standard points, but I could not tell for 
two years how the laying qualities of the offspring might be af- 
fected. Here is a place where "close observation" comes in. The 
pullets were trap-nested for a season, and then if they came up 
to my ideal I had the satisfaction of knowing I had made another 
success. This getting in new blood of the same breed is called 
"out-breeding." 

I know a farmer's wife who had good pure-bred Plymouth 
Rocks, prize winners. She sent away and bought a first prize win- 
ner — a beautiful cockerel. She thought she would have prize win- 
ners for the next show, when to her grief she found that all the 
progeny of that cockerel were disqualified birds. The cockerel did 
not "nick" with the hens, though they were of the same breed. 
This out-breeding was a failure. If she thought fresh blood neces- 
sary, she should have purchased a cockerel from the same breeder 
of whom she purchased her original flock, and she should have had 
one that had some of the same blood as the pullets, or if she could 
not do that, she should have bought a good pullet and mated her 
to the best male, and if the cockerel from that mating proved good, 
she could have used one the following year. "Out-breeding" as she 
did, is a sort of lottery, and one cannot be certain of results. 

Crossing, cross-breeding or out-crossing, all of which mean the 
same thing, is introducing blood from a distinctly different breed. 
The first cross will usually give better layers, and occasionally will 
produce good birds, but the progeny of these will be mongrels un- 
less a pure-bred male is introduced each year. The new breeds, 
such as the Orpington, etc., are made by cross-breeding and then by 
close in-breeding. There is, however, one breed in America which 
has been made entirely by out-crossing; that is the Rhode Island 
Reds. This breed has been made by bringing vigorous blood on 
the male side "Red cocks" from China, Chittagong, Malay, etc., 
and mating them with the farm fowls of Rhode Island. This out- 
crossing has produced a breed of great vigor and prolificacy. 
Crossing as a rule, is not advisable, because one can never be 
certain which parent the young will resemble ; they will be large 
or small, some of one color, some of another, irregular in maturing 
and irregular in shape for market. 

However, I knew a farmer's daughter in New York who wished 
to improve her flock of mongrels of all shapes and colors. She 
bought a "line-bred" Plymouth Rock cockerel, and the following 
summer she found that nearly all the young stock had Plymouth 
Rock markings, even the offspring of the Cochin hens had feathers 
to their toes. The next year she bought again from the same 



4S MK^^ msi !• Y\^ WTSTFRX POUl TRY HOOK 

brcodor anoihor vigorous riyniouth Rock, aiul bv the ond of that 
scas«.M\ she luul, apparently, a tlock (.>t tine riyinouth Rocks. I say 
apparently, because it she had mated them toi^ether. she would have 
had mongrels the following season, but as it was she worked the 
mongrel old stock otY and had tine looking" Plymouth Rocks that 
proved excellent layers. A line-bred cockerel has gxeater prepo- 
tency than one indetinitely bred. That is. he will reproduce him- 
self or leave his marks strongly upon his progeny. This was the 
case with my Xew York friends birds. Hers were "cross-bred." 
or what farmers would call ""grade" Plymouth Rocks. 

The male bird, if he comes from a line-bred family, will be 
more prepotent than the female. He will impress his qualities 
or characteristics, good or bad. on his progeny more than a male 
that is not line-bred, and the male is considered half the pen. 
His part is the germ, the seed, from which will grow the chick, 
l-'or this reason, choose the good, strong", vigorous cockerel, active 
and stirring", to head your pen and take a pure-bred instead of a 
mongrel, because in this way you w ill build up a tlock of fine birds. 

"Line-breeding" is keeping" in the same family for years, each 
year choosing" the most vigorous of both males and females to con- 
tinue the succession, l.ine-breeding is very careful and closely 
selected in-breeding. 

"Out-breeding" is introducing" new blood, but of the same breed. 

"Cross-breeding" or ""out-crossing" is introducing distinctly new 
blood of an entirely ditferent breed. 

There is some diversion of c"^pinion as to the best ages of parent 
stock to produce the strongest chicks, but is is usually accepted 
that fowls are generally at their best at twenty to twenty-four 
months of age. If they are not then in good condition, the breeder 
should look for something" wrong" in his method of handling" stock. 
A hen coming two years old will, if properly handled between sea- 
sons, lay as well the second year as the first, and lay larger eggs 
which will hatch stronger and better chicks. A cock of the same 
age should be in his prime. The mating of males and females of 
this age will, other things being equal, give better results than 
any other ag"e. However, well grown young fowls would make 
better breeders than two-year-v^lds not in good condition. Many 
breeders advise mating a cock bird to pullets, and a cockerel to 
hens. Generally tliese mating^ give better results than the matings 
of cockerels and pullets, but not as g^ood as matings of two-vear- 
olds. 

The principal quality looked for in mating birds is vigor, 
whether you are mating for market or for egg laying or for fancy 
feathering. 

Breeding Chart 

.\ clear conception of the methods followed in line breeding 
may be had by reference to the accompanying chart which has 
been drawn from one published several years ago by I. K. Felch, 
the veteran Light Hrahma breeder. In this chart the solid circles 
and segments represent the male bUxxl elements, and the solid lines 



HRKKDINfi, I.INI.; AND IN l',K KKDI N(; 49 

thai a male has beci chosen fnnn the «To„p fro.n which Ihcy slarl 
Ihe white arc cs and segments represent the female blood elc- 
the i^-o,n slotted hnes that the females have been chosen from 

tlic K^iou p f.om which they start. The shaded circle represents a 
scheme for he adm.ss.on of new blood. Suppose we have two 
extra srood bu-ds which when mated together produce high-cLrss 
offsprmg. I hen the problem is how to perpetuate the rpiality of 
the parents and offsprm.^- without the danj^^ers of close in-breeding 



LiriE Breed /no Ch^rt 

^FreR I.K.Felch 



Geneff/^no.vs 




16 



'fk 






€ &'# i^i On f3\ 



th. 



1^ /S 



liy llic conilcsy of tlic )':(|llor of "I'oultry" 

or of destroying the results of several years of work, by violent 
out-crossn.g I'.y following line breeding, three blood li'^es m^y 
be Icve oped, one of which shall contain a preponderance of orig- 
nal male blood, one a preponderance of original female blood, and 
the third equal proportions of original male and female blood 
fon/nl Vi 1 ^^ ^ represent the original male, and 2 the original 
temale. J hen by crossing 1 and 2 the result is group 3, which pos- 
sesses equal parts of the blood of 1 and 2. Selecting the best pullet 
irom 3 and mating to her .sjrp 1, group 4 is produced, which con- 



50 



MRS I'.ASl.l'VS Wl'Sri-KX I\)U1.TRV BOOK 



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BREEDING, LINE AND IN-BREEDING 



51 



tains three-fourths of the blood of the original sire and one-fourth 
of the blood of the original dam. In a like manner the best cock- 
erel from 3 mated to his dam 2 produces group 5, which is made 
up of three-fourths of the blood of the original dam and one-fourth 
of the blood of the original sire. Proceeding in a similar manner 
by mating the original parents to their offspring in the third gener- 
ation, we obtain at groups 6 and 7 oft'spring which contain either 
seven-eighths the blood of the original sire and one-eighth of the 
blood of the original dam, or seven-eighths the blood of the original 
dam and one-eighth the blood of the original sire, as the case may be. 
Thus the blood of the original sire has been practically eliminated 




Rhode Island Red Cockerel 



from the female line, and the blood of the original dam from the 
male line. If the original parents were still in breeding condition, 
the blood of each could be intensified to 15-16 in the fifth genera- 
tion. To obtain the original cross, however, at any generation after 
the second, it is only necessary to select parents from corresponding 
groups on each side of the line, as for instance, a cockerel from 
group 6 mated to pullets from group 7 will produce, in the fifth 
generation group 9, which contains mathematically one-half the 
blood of the original pair. Similar results can be obtained by se- 
lecting parents from 4 and 5. 

The fifth and sixth generations, as shown in the chart, indicate 
only a few of the possible groups that may be obtained from 
various matings. 

The danger of using new stock not akin to one's own is far 
greater than the danger of line-breeding vigorous birds of known 
pedigree, as is proven by the following case in point : A breeder of 
Reds who had sold a fine pen two years previously of such excel- 



52 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY ROOK 

Icnce that she felt safe in bu3'iiig back a cockerel raised from them, 
resembling in every way the sire sold, for the pen had been care- 
fully line-bred and mated for best results ; she used this bird with 
her finest hens and sold eggs from them, and every chick of this 
cockerel's get had white feathers enough to disqualify it. After 
this cockerel moulted, the beautiful red of his plumage was sprink- 
led all through with patches of white feathers. Close inquiry di- 
vulged the fact that the breeder had allowed his Reds and Whites 
to run together until a few weeks before mating time, trusting to 
this short period of time to remove the bad effects of commingling. 
Now, scientific men maintain that the danger of contamination of 
the female is far greater than is generally believed. Some even 
assert that a pullet's first mating influences her whole progeny, no 
matter how carefully she may be mated thereafter, and that the 
taint of foreign blood can never be eliminated from her offspring. 
There is much of truth in this theory, for the blood of the mother 
partakes of the blood of the sire through the blood of the unborn 
germ, whether egg or foetus, circulating through her. We can 
never be too careful to keep our hens and pullets safely yarded, 
and we should beware of strange males as of the plague itself. 

The accompanying chart for the toe-marking of the chicks ex- 
plains itself. There are sixteen different markings possible. A 
small punch called a chick-marker will be found indispensable. 
The toe marking must be done while the chicks are a day or two 
old, as later on the web will bleed and the others may learn to peck 
at the blood and get into cannibal habits. A book must be kept 
for this one purpose, to keep a record of each chick's pedigree by not- 
ing its particular toe-mark, as soon as the hatch is taken oft". Then 
when mating time comes it is a simple matter to select our breed- 
ers and mate them according to rule. 







S3 



FERTILE EGGS 



In the early spring we receive many letters of inquiry from 
beginners as to how they shall get fertile eggs or why the tggSi 
are not fertile. It is a vital consequence to understand this matter 
somewhat. 

To secure fertile eggs and strong chicks that will grow and 
make good breeders, that will be sturdy and vigorous and bring a 
profit, both the parents should be vigorous and healthy. 

To grow vigorous chickens they must be well born and to 




White Plymouth Rocks 



accomplish this it is absolutely necessary to have the breeding 
stock in the very best of health. The females as well as the males 
should have entirely completed the moult. 

The birds should be mature both physically and sexually. This 
is a very important matter, for an egg may be fertile and yet not 
exclude the chick from it ; the germ may not be vigorous enough 
to develop into a chicken capable of breaking its way out of the 
shell. More than mere size is needed in the male bird ; maturity 
and vigor are necessary. The male should be of large and vigorous 
frame, well filled out, gallant to the females and ready to fight any 
intruder. He should have a full, deep voice and have lost the air 
of immaturity which the young birds always have. He should be 
ten months old or over, with hackles and sickles well developed 
and spurs of a fair size. Such a male will fertilize the eggs strongly 
and produce vigorous and sturdy chicks; the eggs will not only be 
fertile, but will be hatchable. 



54 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

A male bird which is immature may fertilize many of the eggs, 
but it will be found that there are weak germs and many of these 
will never develop, or if they do, the chicks produced will be weak 
and inferior. Immature males are largely to blame for poor hatches 
and chicks dead in the shell. A cockerel is usually at his best when 
he is a year old and from that time until he is three or four years 
old he can be used safely. During the breeding season the vigor of 
the male bird must be watched ; he should have extra food with 
high protein content, that is, extra meat, to keep him vigorous. If 
mated to eight or ten vigorous females and if he is gallant, they will 
usually eat most of the animal food away from him, unless it is fed 
in the dry mash, and suddenly you may discover that the male that 
is heading your pen has lost strength and vitality with a corres- 
ponding loss in the hatchability of the eggs. 

j\luch has been written on the importance of having fully ma- 
tured and well developed females, but the best females cannot 
produce hatchable eggs if mated to an immature or weakly male. 

I have found that two years of age is about the best for both 
sexes, otherwise have a year's difference in the ages of the pair of 
birds. Mate a one-year-old male to older females, say, two, three 
or four years older, or a older male to females of one year of age. 
Here in California I always try to have my male birds hatched in 
the fall ; this was to make them at their best in the breeding season, 
fifteen or eighteen months later; also, I thought that males hatched 
in the fall would be the fathers of hens that would lay in the early 
winter, and I wanted fall and early winter eggs on account of the 
market price. I also found that my fall hatched pullets were earlier 
layers than the spring hatched ; most of my record hens were 
hatched in November. 

Another point in securing fertile eggs is to decide upon the 
number of hens that may be safely mated to a vigorous male. It 
has been found that the American breeds do best if one male is 
mated to from eight to ten females ; with the Asiatics the number 
is one male to from six to eight females ; while the Leghorns or 
Mediterraneans from twelve to twenty females, can be mated to a 
vigorous bird. These will strongly fertilize the eggs. 

In my own yards I found that close observation was necessary; 
sometimes a male will apparently pay no attention to one or two 
females in his yard, and if after mating for three or four weeks I 
find the eggs from one of the females is not fertile, I remove her 
to another yard. I do not approve of changing the males in a yard, as 
some have advocated. The theory may be plausible, but in practice 
I have found it detrimental. It gives a feeling of unrest in the 
yards and retards egg production, as anything disturbing will, and 
causes a loss of fertility. I find it best to mate up for the season 
and then leave them alone without change of any kind, unless for 
some special cause. 

A 'line-bred" male is more prepotent than a male of no breed- 
ing, and will strongly impress his female offspring with the char- 
acteristics of the females in his line. Be very sure that your male 
is vigorous. 



FERTILE EGGS 55 

Feeding- for fertility is another necessity in getting liatclial)le 
eggs. Here we may consult Nature. The spring is the time that 
Nature gives- the fertile eggs ; let us feed as much as possible as 
she does. Let us be sure to give plenty of tender, green, succulent 
food, as well as animal food to supply the place of the grubs and 
worms, which Nature gives, but in making any radical change in 
the food, make the change gradually. There is a difference between 
change and. variety. A great variety will give fertility, while a 
radical change of any kind will cause a loss of eggs as well as loss 
of fertility. Among the green foods that give fertility, the fore- 
most is alfalfa. Give the fowls all the alfalfa or clover that you 
can induce them to eat. Give all the grain in the scratching pen, 
so they will have to work and exercise for every grain. Nothing 
helps the fertiHty so much as the exercise of scratching and nothing 
costs much less. One prominent poultry breeder told me that 
it costs him exactly one cent a month per hen to keep fresh wheat 
straw in his scratching pen ; the hens scratch in that and also eat a 
considerable amount of the straw. 

The grain most conducive to fertility is oats. I always use 
oatmeal in the dry mash during the breeding season, also sprouted 
oats. These are given besides the mixed grain in the scratching 
pen. 

The animal food should be as much as possible, fresh green bone 
and meat, skim milk and beef scraps. The fresh meat is the best 
of all, but it must be fresh. Those living where rabbits or wild 
game are abundant can supply this. At the sea coast, fish and the 
little crabs or clams make a valuable addition to the animal food. 

Of course, good, sharp grit, crushed oyster shell and charcoal 
should be before the hen all the time. 




TESTING EGGS FOR INCUBATION 



Success is w lial w c all want to attain in what ever we undertake, 
aiul 1 earnestly hope that ni\ practical talks on poultry may help 
others to make a success of it. 

"Success with the Japanese." wrote George Kennan, in one of 
his interesting articles during the war, "is not a matter of perhaps 
or somehow or other, nor does it depend upon the grace of a merci- 
ful God. It is carefully 'pre-arranged' by an intelligent forethought. 
a perfect system and an attention to details that I have never seen 
surpassed." 

Success in the poultry yard can be attained or "pre-arranged" in 
exactly the same manner, b'ailnre in the ciiicken business (as in 
warfare) is due to lack of forethought, hick of system, and care- 
lessness with regard to details. Forethought is the studying up and 
thinking how to do a thing, thinking out beforehand the best way 
of doing it and arranging for it. 

The experiences of others by teaching us may save us not only 
dollars and cents, but chagrin and disappointment. I spend a good 
deal of my time in visiting the ranches of some of my correspond- 
ents, either to help them out of difficulties, or to luate up their pens 
for them, or to start up their incubators, or to overhaul their brood- 
ers or plan their henneries, and in this way I become acquainted 
with the needs and difficulties of a luimber of amateurs or beginners 
in the poultry business. Some of the troubles of others may teach 
us what "not to dc">." 

"1 wish you could tell me what is the matter." wrote one. "I 
had good luck last year, but only half the fertile eggs hatched last 
time." 

T answered by spending a day at her ranch. "What is the mat- 
ter with your hatches?" said I. "and on what day did they come 

CMlt?" 

"The first hatch this season came out on the twenty-second day." 
was her reply, "and as it was a day too late. I decided to run the 
machine half a dejjTee higher than the directions order, and I 
suppose I got it too hot." 

"Did you have any crippled chickens in the hatch?" 
"Yes. in the last hatch there were a number of nice big chicks 
that could not stand up. Their legs sprawled out and I had to kill 
them." 

The Incubator 

Cripples usually come from over-heating the incubator, or from 
irregularity of heat. Poor or insufficient ventilation will also cause 
cripples. 

Now. what was the reason for these failures and what can others 
learn from them? After a careful examination of the incubator, 
which was a good one of the most approved make. I decided first 
that the incubator did not stand perfectly level : secondly, that the 
thermometer was at fault. When the incubator is in the least de- 
gree out of level, the- heat will go to the highest side, leaving the 



TESTING EGGS FOR INCUBATION 57 

lowest possibly a degree or more too cold. The first thing to be 
learned from this lady's failure is never to start the incubator with- 
out being absolutely certain that it is perfectly level. The only 
way to do this is to use a carpenter's spirit level. Put it on top of 
the machine at each side and then cross-wise, and be sure that the 
bubble of air is at the proper spot. You may think that because it 
stood level last year it is most likely to be all right this year. That 
is leaving it to chance. One of the legs may have shrunk ever so 
little from the dry weather or swollen from the dampness of the 
room or the floor or ground may have changed ever so little at one 
corner or side without it being perceptible to the eye. It is much 
"better to be sure than sorry," so whether you are an expert or not, 
do not commence this season to hatch without testing your ma- 
chine with a spirit level. Do not trust to luck — "pre-arrange" and 
success will be yours. 

Test the Thermometer 

Do not start the incubator this season without testing also the 
thermometer. Some friends of mine once bought a new incubator 
of standard make. The thermometer was guaranteed correct; two 
years seasoned. They had just received from Canada twenty dol- 
lars' worth of very choice eggs, and as they wanted to be sure of a 
good hatch from those prize eggs, they bought this new incubator, 
although they had a good one. Not an egg hatched ! They after- 
wards discovered that the guaranteed thermometer was two de- 
grees wrong. Do not trust to last year's testing. Thermometers 
vary, and it takes at least two years to season them. 

It is not difficult to test a thermometer, but to do so you must 
have one perfectly correct and accurate. This you can either bor- 
row from the doctor or from your druggist, or you can take one 
of your thermometers to the druggest and ask him to test it for you. 
Then having one that is accurate, take a bucket holding about two 
quarts of water, put warm water heated to about 105 degrees into 
the bucket, and put your thermometers into it with the bulbs all at 
the same level. Keep the water well stirred, so the heat will be the 
same all over. Hold the thermometers in it for fifteen minutes, then 
read them and note the difference. If your thermometer is half a 
degree too low, mark on the incubator, "Thermometer half degree 
too low; run incubator half degree lower than directed," or oppo- 
site, if the thermometer reads too high. If you buy a new thermo- 
meter, after testing it, be sure to hang or place it in the correct 
position. The bulb must be on exactly the same level as the former 
thermometer which belonged to the machine. A little difference in 
height or in the position of the bulb of the thermometer may make 
a great difference in the heat on the egg tray. You cannot be too 
careful and particular about these small items. "Pre-arrangement" 
of these means success. 

How to Test the Eggs 

After supper, when it was dark, we put the trays of beautiful 
fresh eggs on the dining room table, put the egg tester on the lamp, 



58 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

and then looked at each egg through the tester. Eggs were rejected 
that were chalky to the touch, or those that had light spots in them 
or freckled all over with clear places, or thin on the little end, or 
cracked, or crooked, or in any way misshaped. A few doubtful I 
left in. marking them "d" (these I subsequently heard did not 
hatch). It is much easier to detect the imperfect or unhatchable 
eggs by looking at them with the tester than by merely feeling 
them. It may be a little more trouble at the commencement, but is 
a saving in labor all through the period of incubation and a lessen- 
ing in the expense of oil ; besides giving more room for fertile eggs 
and more chance of a good hatch, as the infertile eggs chill their 
fertile neighbors and draw from their vitality. Therefore do not 
put eggs into the incubator, or under hens, without carefully select- 
ing them. Poultry keeping is made up of little things, and can so 
easily be ruined by little things that I will add a word of warning. 
Do not hold the egg when testing it so close to the lamp that it 
will heat it. The tiny germ of life in the egg is very tender and 
may easily be killed. For this reason I made a home-made tester 
out of a cracker box. I cut a hole the size of half a dollar just op- 
posite the place where the flame of the lamp came when I set it 
inside the box. In this way I did not overheat the egg. I also 
found this box very handy for testing eggs under setting hens. 
Eggs, whether under hens or in incubators, should always be tested 
out. There are thousands of eggs lost or wasted every year from 
carelessness in this matter. An egg which is infertile and is for a 
week either in an incubator or under a hen is perfectly good for 
food. It is simply an egg that has been in a warm place for a week. 
There is no germ in it ; there never has been life in it. so there is no 
dead germ to decay. Infertile eggs keep fresh and sweet much 
longer than fertile eggs, and those who are raising only eggs for 
market should keep no male birds in their flock and never have 
fertile eggs. 

Do not put eggs from different classes of fowls into the same 
incubator. Hens' eggs take twenty-one days to incubate, but if 
eggs from Leghorns (Mediterranean class) are placed in the same 
tray with Brahmas (Asiatic class) or with Plymouth Rocks (Ameri- 
can class), the Leghorns will be the first to hatch, sometimes as 
much as two days earlier, to the great detriment of the larger 
breed, which is slower in hatching. This comes not only from the 
earlier hatched chicks walking over the eggs, but also from the 
change in the atmosphere and temperature in the incubator at the 
time of hatching. At that time the air in the incubator is always 
heavily charged with moisture and the temperature rises from the 
activity of the chicks, and these two conditions will ruin the hatch 
of the slower breed. Experiments along these lines that I have 
made have always given the same results. 



NATURAL INCUBATION 

The beginner may find it best to incubate with hens in prefer- 
ence to an incubator. The hen, having layed the egg, is the natural 
mother, has the mother instinct given by the Creator, and is cer- 
tainly the one intended to hatch and brood the chickens. To the be- 
ginner in the chicken business there is less present outlay in a few 
setting hens than in installing even a small incubating and brood- 
ing plant under artificial methods. The trials of those who find 
setting hens troublesome are mostly due to their own inability or 
their lack of patience with the hen. Hens must be treated with 
patience and gentleness, for in no way can a hen that has the "set- 
ting fever," as our grandmothers called it, be coerced against her 
will. 

How to Make Nests 

The nest should be about fourteen inches square. Some breeders 
use boxes twelve by sixteen inches, but I prefer the square nests. 
If the nest is to be on an earth floor, rake the floor, then scoop a 
place about thirteen inches across in the form of a saucer; firm the 
shape well with the hand, and when it is smooth and firm, take hay 
or short straw, or tobacco stems and firm that again in the proper 
shape, and the nest is made. Should it be necessary to have the 
nest in a box or on a board floor, take a clean box, have the front of 
the box just high enough to retain the nesting material; the backs 
and sides may be higher ; put several inches of fresh earth into the 
box, firm it with the hand into a saucer-shaped hollow, and be 
sure to pack the earth high into the corners, so there will be no pos- 
sibility of the eggs rolling into a corner and being chilled or lost. 
The nests should be flat at the bottom, shaped like a saucer and 
not like a bowl. If too deep, the eggs will roll together, sometimes 
pile up and get cracked or broken. 

When only a few hens are to be set, the nests can be placed in 
any convenient location where the hens may be quiet, comfortable, 
away from other fowls and in the shade. I have found trap nests 
with two compartments very satisfactory, placed under a tree. I 
also have made sets of nests, giving each hen a nest and a small 
run, with a dish of water, a hopper with grit, corn and wheat always 
before her, shut ofi from all intruders. If hens are to be set in large 
numbers, a separate hennery in which from six to twenty hens can 
be set on the same day is the most convenient. The nests in this 
house or room should be placed with their backs to the wall and 
should face towards the center. Grit, corn, water and a dust bath 
for them to bathe in must be before them at all times. After a few 
days, if .this hennery has a separate yard from the other fowls, the 
door of the house may be left open so the hens can go out of doors 
and take a dust bath in the open air, but the food, water and grit 
must be in the house in sight of all the hens. 

Setting the Hen 

The old-fashioned recipe was, "Set a hen between sunset and 
sunrise for luck." In other words, set a hen in the dark. liens are 



60 MRS. RASLKVS WESTERN POUl.TRY ROOK 

quieter and not so easily frightened after dark. Choose quiet, gen- 
tle, tame hens ; they make the best mothers. Handle them very 
gently. Put all the hens on the eggs in the same room the same 
evening, so they may all hatch out the same time. This is in order 
to keep the hens quiet during the hatch, as some whose eggs were 
not hatching the same day might become so excited they would 
leave their own nests and try to get to the newly hatched chicks 
when they heard the first peep. 

Dummy eggs should be placed under the hens, when a number 
of hens are set in the same room, for a few days, a few under each 
hen. The first night after dark set all the hens on dummy eggs. If 
some light is necessary, turn the dark side of the lantern toward 
the hen. Have as dim a light as possible ; move the hens gently. 
They will soon settle down on the eggs. In the morning look in and 
if any hen appears refractory, put her on the nest again and cover 
her w'ith a box. Look in frequently for the first few days to see how 
they are doing, and you will rarely find more than two hens off and 
eating at the same time, as they are afraid of leaving their nests 
when others are oft". Let the hens sit for two or three days, then 
put the good eggs gently in at night. The way to do this is to re- 
move the hen gently, setting her on the floor ; take out the dummy 
eggs and put the real eggs into the nest and gently replace the hen. 
Do not talk, act quickly, silently and swiftly, in a very dim light. 

From thirteen to fifteen eggs are all that should be placed under 
a hen. It is all she can warm properly, all she can turn and attend 
to without the risk of breaking or cracking some. You will hatch 
more and stronger chicks by not placing too many under a hen. 

Keeping Records 

Above each nest, hanging on a nail, I place a card. On this card, 
legibly written is: (1) the date when set; (2) when due; (3) the 
hen's name or number; (4) name or parents' number on eggs; (5) 
number of eggs ; (6) date of first test, number infertile or dead ; (7) 
date of second test and remarks ; (8) hatch, number taken from 
nest, number not hatching or killed; (9) toe marks of chicks. These 
cards can be preserved or copied into the diary of the ranch. They 
form a complete data of each hatch and a history of the hens as well 
as the chicks. 

Testing the Eggs 

Watch the hens rather closely for the first week, and note any 
that may be restless, nervous, cross to the others or stupid in not 
finding their way back to their own nests. These, when you test 
the eggs, you may be able to cull out and turn them back into the 
laying pen. It is always best to keep hens of pleasant disposition 
for mothers. 

The eggs should be tested about the seventh day. An expert can 
test them earlier, and white eggs or duck eggs show the germ as 
early as the fourth or fifth day. The removal of the infertile eggs 
gives those that are left a better chance of hatching. The infertile 
eggs or dead germs are colder than the living eggs and chill the lat- 



NATURAL INCUBATION 61 

ter; besides, the infertile egg has a market value and can be used in 
the kitchen or fed to the chicks. It is a waste to throw them away. 
Testing should not be neglected. There is no use in hens setting 
on eggs that will not hatch. They had better be reset on fresh eggs 
or returned to the laying pen. 

Egg testers can be bought at the poultry supply houses, but a 
home-made egg tester I have used for years is only a box with the 
back knocked out and a hole in the top for ventilation. I put the 
lantern into it. Just opposite to the flame a hole about two inches 
square is cut in the box and a piece of a rubber boot-leg tacked on. 
I drew a pencil line around a fifty-cent piece and cut that out with 
a pen knife, leaving the round hole for the light to shine through. 

The testing must be done in the dark. Set the egg tester with 
the lantern inside it on a box near the nest. Take the hen quietly 
ofif the. nest, being careful to put your hands under her wings to 
make sure that you do not lift an egg or two with her. Place the 
hen very gently on the floor at one side. Do this so gently that the 
hen will not realize that she is off the nest. .Take all the eggs from 
the nest, placing them either on the floor or in a basket ; examine 
each egg and replace each fertile egg in the nest as you examine it ; 
mark on the record card the number of infertile eggs, and gently 
replace the hen on the nest. Should any hen awake and appear 
nervous, she can be put upon the nest and the eggs slipped one at 
a time under her as they are tested, but the former plan is prefer- 
able, being more quickly done, with less disturbance to the hen. 

The light shining through the egg, when held against the hole 
in the tester, shows the condition of the egg. Infertile eggs are 
clear. Fertile eggs have a shadow in them by the seventh day. 
The germ appears in some like a dark, irregular floating spot. 
Doubtful eggs should be marked with a D and given the benefit 
of the doubt, replacing them in the nest. 

After taking out the infertile eggs, if there are many of them, 
you can reset the hens that have none or turn them back into the 
laying pen, culling out the fractious or nervous hens. By doing this 
carefully at each test, you will probably have good mothers when 
hatching time comes. Restless setters usually make indifferent 
mothers. Close observation is necessary for success in all lines of 
poultry culture, and especially with setting hens. 

The second test should be made in the same way on the four- 
teenth day. The eggs containing dead germs should be buried. 

Dusting the Hen 

A hen should be well dusted with insecticide the day she is set. 
To dust a hen the powder should be in a tin box with a perforated 
cover. An effective home-made peppering box can be made from a 
baking powder can with holes in the lid. Hold the hen by the legs, 
lay her on her side on a newspaper, raise the wing and sprinkle un- 
der it, then rub the powder well into the skin, especially round the 
vent. Work it into the soft feathers also around the neck. When 
one side is thoroughly powdered, turn the hen over and do the other 



62 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

side. The powder that is spilled on the paper can be returned to 
the can. 

While the hens are on the nests they should be dusted on the 
seventh and fourteenth day and two days before the hatch comes 
ofif, with buhach or with any good insecticide. 1 prefer those prin- 
cipally made with tobacco dust. 

When Hatching 

In the climate of California I have never found it necessary to 
moisten hens' eggs. In fact, the eggs that contain dead chicks 
show that they have not dried out enough. They did not require 
more moisture. There is a natural perspiration which comes from 
the hen, and this keeps the eggs moist enough. 

Should the eggs be chilled by the hen deserting the nest, do not 
throw them away. Put them under another hen as quickly as pos- 
sible. I have known of eggs being left for a whole day and yet 
hatching. Eggs under hens will stand much more cooling than in 
an incubator. Chilling seems to be less injurious during the sec- 
ond week of incubation than at any other time. 

On the nineteenth day, two days before the hatch, I take out to 
the nest a bucket of warm water, temperature 103 degrees ; remov- 
ing the hen from the nest, I put the eggs into the water. Those 
with a live chick in them immediately being to bob or move as they 
float on the water, and I return them to the nest ; those that sink to 
the bottom or remain perfectly quiet have dead chicks in them and 
will not hatch, and I mark them with a pencil ; then replace the hen 
upon the damp eggs, feeling sure I will have a good hatch. 

It is best to watch the hens pretty closely when the chicks are 
hatching. Some hens get excited and nervous when they hear the 
chicks peeping, and in their restlessness crush the shell so that the 
chicks cannot turn themselves and they die in the shell. These 
nervous hens should, if possible, be removed and quieter hens 
put on. 

When chicks are hatching rapidly and the hens are nervous, it is 
best to remove the chicks as they dry off, taking them to the kitchen 
in a basket lined and covered with flannel. But if the hens are quiet 
it is best to leave the chicks with the mothers, only visiting the 
nests about twice during the hatch to take out the empty shells, 
lest they should slip over the yet unhatched eggs and so smother the 
chick. All eggs should be hatched by the end of the twenty-first 
day. 

Marking Chicks 

The offspring of the best, or pedigreed stock, can be marked so 
as to know them through life, by having a small hole punched in 
one or more of the webs of the feet. This should be done as the 
chicks are removed from the nests. A marker or punch is sold at 
poultry supply houses for marking chicks. They should be marked 
the day they are hatched, as the web is then soft, does not bleed as 
nuich as later, and there is not as much risk of the other chicks 
pecking the toes as they would do when older. 



NATURAL INCUBATION 



63 



If the hens have been well cared for, properly dusted with a good 
insecticide during the three weeks of incubation, they will be per- 
fectly free of lice. They and the chicks must be kept free. There 
is not the difficulty in this that many imagine. Dusting the chick- 
ens and hens once a week is all that is necessary. Some breeders 
put a little lard on the top of their heads and on their throats. This 
protects from the head lice. Others take a small brush (if the 
chicks are affected with head lice), and wash the little heads once a 
week with a lather of carbolic soap. They soon dry off in the sun 
or under the hen. 




ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION 



We are living in wonderful times, in the age of great inventions, 
and to succeed in any business, we must keep abreast if not ahead 
of our times. Not the least wonderful accomplishment of this 
wonder-working epoch has been the growth and advancement of 
the poultry industry, and the invention of the modern incubator, 
which made the development of the poultry business in this coun- 
try possible. 

In Egypt and China artificial incubation has been known and 
practiced for many centuries. In this country it is scarcely out of 
its infancy, still it would be impossible to estimate the value of the 
incubator to the poultry industry. It has made possible and profit- 
able the large poultry plants in this country. It has developed the 
broiler business; it has raised the hen to the position of the money 
maker. One incubator will do the work of ten to thirty hens and 
with better results. 

Must Approach Nature 

There have been many kinds of incubators invented, made and 
patented in the last twenty years. The difBculty is to choose which 
kind will do the work of hatching eggs best; that is, will bring out 
strong chicks with the least attention and the least expense. There 
are hot water machines and hot air machines; round incubators'and 
square incubators. I have heard of incubators in this state, which 
are made like hot beds heated with stable manure. Some incuba- 
tors are heated with gas, some with electricity, but most of them 
by the heat of a lamp which burns coal-oil. The best incubator is 
the one that comes nearest to imitating the natural process of in- 
cubation by a hen, for undoubtedly Nature is our great teacher 
in this matter. 

The two favorite makes of incubators on the market now are the 
hot-water incubators and the incubators which bring warmed air 
into the egg chamber. The latter are called hot-air incubators. The 
dififerencc between them is that the hot-water machines heat the 
egg chambers by radiation, while the hot-air machine brings warm 
air into the incubator. 

In the machines where the heat is radiated from the metal sur- 
face of pipes or tanks, the temperature at the underside of the eggs, 
away from the heat, is several degrees cooler than at the upper 
side of the eggs. Top heat by radiation is supposed to resemble 
the heat from the body of the hen. 

In the hot-air incubators the egg chamber is heated by air that 
is warmed outside of the egg chamber to a proper heat and is then 
forced into the machines by suction or circulation and diffused into 
the egg chamber. This way gives a constant supply of warmed 
fresh air, as pure and fresh as the atmosphere outside of the in- 
cubator. These hot-air machines rarely require any moisture to be 
added, as there is usually sufificient moisture held in suspension in 
the atmosphere, which is being constantly introduced into the eg§ 
chamber. 



ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION 65 

It pays to get the best, and by inquiring at the large poultry 
plants in the neighborhood, information can easily be ol^tained 
as to the most popular machine in use in that locality. 

It is wiser to buy a machine than to attempt to make one. Good 
incubators are now sold at so low a price that it does not pay to 
risk the loss of eggs in experimenting on a home-made machine. 

Location of Incubator 

The incubator should be located in a well-ventilated room or 
cellar that is dry and not subject to great variations of temperature. 

Preparing to Hatch 

The first thing to do is to set the machine perfectly level, using a 
spirit level to make sure of this, for if the machine is not level the 
heat will go to the higher side, the temperature will be uneven and 
although it may be correct where the thermometer hangs, in the 
middle, the upper side will be too hot and the lower too cold. It 
is most important to have the incubator stand perfectly level. 

Let the incubator run for thirty-six hours before putting in the 
eggs. This is to make sure that the machine is thoroughly warmed 
and that it is running steadily at the proper heat. It may take 
twelve hours before the eggs gradually warm through, and the 
thermometer again shows the desired temperature. During this 
time the regulator must not be altered. Touching the screw may 
prove fatal to the whole hatch. So wait patiently until the desired 
heat is again present. 

Selecting the Eggs 

Eggs for hatching should always be carefully selected. The 
fresher they are the better. Eggs hatch after being kept a month, 
but the little germ or seed of life gradually grows weaker and 
weaker, and at last has not the strength to develop into a fine, 
healthy chick, and may die in the shell, if the egg is kept too long. 
Ten days or two weeks is better than any older. 

The eggs should come from vigorous, healthy and well-fed 
stock. Much depends upon the feeding of the breeders, especially 
the male bird. They should have plenty of vegetables and green 
food, as well as animal food and those grains which contain the 
bone and muscle-forming elements. Eggs with imperfect shells 
should be rejected ; also those with rough or chalky shells, and with 
thin spots. The eggs should be of medium size, neither too large 
nor too small, as the large eggs may have double yolks, which 
rarely hatch. Small eggs denote inferiority and are either pullet 
eggs or eggs from fat hens, or hens exhausted from having layed a 
long time. 

Eggs of One Class 

The eggs should be of one breed or class. It takes twenty-one 
days to hatch all hen eggs, but if the eggs from Leghorns are 
placed in the same tray as the Brahmas, the Leghorns will be the 
first hatched, sometimes as much as two days sooner, to the great 
detriment and loss of the others, which are slower in hatching. 
This is probably caused by the change in the atmosphere and 



66 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

change in the incubator at the time of hatching. The air is heavily 
charged with moisture, and the temperature always rises during a 
hatch from the activity of the chicks, and it is exceedingly dititicult 
to regulate the temperature when the incubator is full of chicks 
in all stages of hatching. The rise of temperature does not hurt 
the chicks that are just breaking out of the shell, but if it takes 
place two days too soon, it will ruin the hatch of the heavier and 
slower breeds. Experiments that 1 have made along these lines 
have always given the same results. 

Turning the Eggs 

The eggs must be left for forty-eight hours after being placed in 
the incubator before being turned. After that they should be 
turned twice a day, or oftener. In this we should imitate the hen, 
for she not only turns her eggs constantly, but always shifts their 
position, pushing those that are on the outside into the center of 
the nest. It is really more important that the eggs be moved or 
shifted from their position or location in the tray, than merely 
turned, as it shifts the locations of the eggs in regard to weak 
germs or infertile eggs. 

If the eggs are not turned during the early stages of incubation, 
many of the germs will dry fast to the shell and die, and the egg 
will be lost. When the egg is not turned during the latter part of 
incubation, the embryo does not develop properly, has little chance 
of hatching or may prove a cripple. 

The turning and moving of the eggs gives exercise to the em- 
bryo ; it is a species of gymnastics for strengthening the chick. 
The first forty-eight hours and the last forty-eight hours the eggs 
must not be turned. 

Cooling the Eggs 

Cooling the eggs I consider an important matter in our Ameri- 
can incubators. The first week, following the hen's example, the 
eggs require but little cooling beyond the time it takes to turn 
them. The second week, as soon as the eggs are turned, replace 
them in the machine and leave the door open for five minutes ; after 
this increase the time, a minute or two each day, till at the end the 
eggs are being aired or cooled fifteen or twenty minutes. 

Cooling the eggs helps to make the shell brittle, so that the chick 
at the proper time can break its way out. Cooling the eggs con- 
tracts the shell and heating it up again expands it and this con- 
traction and expansion gives the shell its proper brittleness. As 
the eggs warm up again, an almost imperceptible moisture comes 
over them, which takes the place of the perspiration of the hen, and 
obviates the necessity of sprinkling or dampening the eggs. So in 
our incubators it is necessary to cool the eggs. If this has been 
done properly the chicks will be strong and vigorous and few will 
die in the shell. 

Testing the Eggs 

All sterile eggs and dead germs should be tested out. Egg 
testers are sold with all incubators and very little practice will en- 
able even a beginner to detect the sterile eggs and dead germs. 



ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION 67 

Infertile eggs will be of a clear, uniform color throughout, except 
a slight darkening where the yolk lies. In the fertile eggs will be 
seen a small dark spot, and in a white egg the blood vessels can be 
seen branching out from it. Eggs should be tested about the sev- 
enth day. A second test for removing the dead germs should be 
made on the fifteenth day, they being easily detected at that time. 
The chicks in fertile eggs will be seen to fill the shell nearly, except 
a small space at the small end, and the air space at the large end. 
All eggs containing dead germs should be removed from the ma- 
chine and buried. On the eighteenth day the chicks fill the entire 
shell except the air cell, and the 'egg will be quite opaque, as if 
nearly full of ink. To become accurate in egg testing requires 
practice and a brilliant light. 

Operating the Incubator 

Follow exactly the directions given with whatever incubator 
you may purchase. The makers of the incubators are anxious for 
you to succeed and have good hatches ; it is to their interest for 
you to be successful. They have spent time and money in per- 
fecting and understand how to manage their own machines better 
than any one else. 

On the morning of the nineteenth day the eggs should be turned 
for the last time. The machine should then be closed and kept 
closed until the hatch is over. Opening the door during the process 
of hatching may spoil or seriously injure the hatch, as by such 
action a large amount of heat and moisture escapes and cold air is 
admitted. This dries up the lining skin of the eggs that are pipped 
and checks or prevents their hatching. It also chills the half- 
hatched or newly hatched chicks and is detrimental to all of them. 
When the chicks are coming out lively, the temperature will rise; 
should it go above 105 degrees, the lamp may be turned down a 
little. 

Leave the chicks in the machine without opening it until they 
are thoroughly dry. The chicks should not be moved from the in- 
cubator imtil the twenty-second day and should not be fed until 
twenty-four hours after hatching. 

General Remarks 

Should the hatch not come off until after the twenty-first day, it 
shows that the heat has been insufficient ; if it comes off earlier, the 
heat during part of the time has been too high. Too low a tem- 
perature will give a weak hatch, many chickens will die in the shell, 
and those that are hatched will be weakly and never amount to 
anything. Too high temperature at the commencement of incu- 
bation will cook and kill the germ. One hundred and six degrees is 
danger point up to the tenth day. Germs which died between the 
first and second testing are frequently the result of overheating. 
Too high a temperature during the last week will so weaken the 
bowels of the chicks that they will be unable to assimilate the yolk 
of the egg. The yolk of the egg is Nature's perfect nourishment, 
which feeds and nourishes the embryo. 



68 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN TOULTRY ROOK 



Durinq" the last day of the chick's life in the shell the part of the 
yolk which has not been absorbed is drawn np into the chick. This 
forms its food and nourishment for about three days. But should 
the egg be over-heated, this yolk hardens and even if drawn into 
the chick, it becomes tough, the chicken's bowels are weakened by 
the over-heating, the 3"olk remains unassimilated, like a piece of 
rubber, blood poisoning ensues and the chick dies some time be- 
tween the first and tenth day of its life. Chilling the eggs has 
almost the same efifect ; it weakens the bowels, hardens the yolk 
and eventually kills the chick. 




CARE OF BROODER CHICKS 



The hatching- of chicks is but half the battle, for eggs from good 
vigorous parents will hatch with but little trouble if a good standard 
incubator is used and if the directions with it are followed. How 
about the raising of the chicks after they are hatched? 

The poultry papers agree that there is not a subject pertaining 
to poultry culture that needs more thorough, painstaking investiga- 
tion and discussion than the care of the chicks, and it is said that 
not more than fifty per cent of the chicks that are hatched the coun- 
try over reach maturity or a marketable age. 

What are the principal causes of mortality among chicks ; how 
can we combat them and what are the essentials in the successful 
raising of chicks? 

There are numberless causes for the death we deplore — among 
these are diarrhoea, bowel trouble, lice, improper feeding, impure 
water, over heating or chilling and exposure to the elements. 

Feeling sure that the mortality in chicks is caused in a majority 
of cases by the carelessness or ignorance of the caretaker, let us 
discuss this subject and glean from the best authorities some ideas 
about it as far as we may in one short article. 

Expert Opinion 

Prof. James E. Rice, of Cornell University, has for several years 
been making a careful study of the cause and cure — or prevention 
— of the numerous diseases that cause the death of hundreds of 
thousands of chicks yearly, and his investigations have led him to 
believe that one great cause of mortality is the failure on the part 
of the digestive organs of the chicks to properly digest the yolk of 
the egg remaining in their bodies at the time of hatching. 

Mr. Rice says: "If we can solve this one problem — the cause of 
the anaemic condition of chicks that follows this failure to absorb 
the yolk of the egg — more money will be saved in one year to the 
farmers and poultry raisers of New York state than it costs to run 
the State Agricultural College for ten years." 

Mr. Rice says he is confident that environment has little, if any- 
thing, to do with the disease, as has been generally supposed. When 
he first began his investigations, this theory was worked upon and 
followed up, but as the investigation progressed it was found that 
the same conditions existed under almost any and all circumstances 
— in dry places, in damp places, in light brooding houses and in 
dark brooding houses ; in fact, he found no conditions under which 
this trouble did not exist. Mr. Rice is confident, however, that the 
investigations being conducted will ultimately solve the problem. 

Until this problem is solved we shall have to be content with the 
theories of the different breeders and hatchers, and as one I feel 
confident from my own experiments and experiences that the deaths 
from diarrhoea, or in fact almost all the deaths of brooder chicks 
before three weeks of age, come from faulty incubation. The tem- 
perature has been either too hot or too cold, usually the former, or 
the ventilation has been at fault, or the chicks have been chilled in 



70 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

carrying them to the brooder, or fed too soon, before the digestive 
organs were ready to digest the food. 

Elbow Room Needed 

Mr. Hunter, the veteran poultry man. says : "With incubator 
chicks raised in brooders, elbow room seems to be a most important 
factor, and want of elbow room is one cause for the great mortality 
in brooder chicks." 

It is quite natural to suppose that a brooder which is three feet 
square is abundant room for seventy-five or a hundred chicks, and 
indeed it is for the chicks as they come out of the incubator, and 
if we do not want them to grow it might be all right to crowd them 
into the brooder, but these chicks will be almost twice as large at 
three weeks old as when they are hatched and will require twice 
as much room or will suffer for it. 

Fifty chickens are as many as should be put into any brooder. 
To increase the number beyond that point will induce crowding, 
which kills some and stunts others, and will prevent the quick, 
healthy growth that is necessary for all young animals. Ample 
brooder room is the first and chief requisite for the health and com- 
fort of the chicks. The next requisite is oxygen. In other words, 
plenty of fresh, warm air. but no drafts in the brooder. Here is 
one of the great faults with many brooders, as for example the hot 
water pipe brooders in use in many brooder houses. Those hot 
water pipes merely heat the air that is already within the hovers, 
which air is practically confined to the hovers by the felt curtain 
in front, provided to keep in the heat. It does that, but it also en- 
closes the air. which the chicks have to breathe over and over again. 
This defect in my brooders cost me the lives of many chicks before 
I discovered the cause. A current of warmed fresh air supplied 
under the hovers overcame this difficulty, when I substituted the 
hot-air plan. 

Comfort Essential 

The brooder should be heated for at least twelve hours before 
the chicks are put into it. I always keep a thermometer in the 
brooder and have it at 95 degrees when they are first removed from 
the incubator. They should be carried to the brooder in a basket 
lined and covered with flannel, great care being taken that they be 
not chilled on the way. I am sure that many chicks lose their lives 
by being chilled on this their first journey. The abrupt change 
from the warm incubator to the outside air. which is thirty or forty 
degrees colder, is sufficient to chill the chick. 

"a chill will harden the yolk of the egg. which is drawn up into 
the chick the last day of its stay in the egg shell. You know that 
the volk of the egg forms the nourishment for the chick inside the 
shell. The last day of its life in the shell all that remains of the 
volk, about one-fourth of it. is drawn up into the chicken through 
the navel. If the chick is vigorous the yolk should be assimilated 
or digested in about three days. But if the chick is chilled or over- 
heated, it so weakens the bowels that they cannot digest the yolk 
or absorb it. and the volk hardens or toughens, becomes almost 



CARE OF BROODER CHICKS 71 

like rubber; then it can never be assimilated, blood poisoning en- 
sues and the chick's life ends. 

Chicks should not be fed for from thirty-six to forty-eight hours 
after they come out of the shell, because, first, they do not require 
any food, as the yolk inside them takes nearly three days to become 
absorbed or digested; and, secondly, if they are fed too soon (that 
is, before the yolk is digested), the effort of digesting the new 
food draws the nervous energy or gastric juices away from the part 
containing the yolk, up to the crop and gizzard, and the yolk either 
does not digest at all or digests so slowly that it brings on bowel 
trouble, which at such an early age stunts the growth, if it does 
not kill the chick. In a chick that is fed too early in life the yolk 
will take, or may take, ten days to digest. You ask how I know 
this. "By sad experience and post morten examinations," is my 
reply. 

The brooder being warmed to a temperature of 95 degrees under 
the hover, the floor should be covered with coarse, sharp sand, the 
chicks carried carefully to the brooder, after remaining thirty-six 
to forty-eight hours in the incubator. 

Feed Carefully 
The first few hours in the brooder they require no food but the 
sand to eat and water to drink. The sand supplies the little gizzards 
with the necessary teeth or little grindstones, so that they are ready 
to commence work when the food comes. Water I place in a drink- 
ing fountain, so they cannot get into it and wet themselves. I give 
them water from the first. I know some people do not, but it has 
succeeded well with my chicks. At about four o'clock they have 
the first meal. I scatter rolled breakfast oats on the sand. The 
white flakes quickly attract their attention and they pick them up. 
I also give them a fountain of fresh water and one of sweet 
skimmed milk. It is surprising to see how quickly they learn to 
eat and drink. In the evening I look in upon them and am pleased 
when I see them spread over the hover floor, as it indicates that 
they are comfortably warm and will not crowd or huddle during 
the night. The first thing in the morning I give them some more 
rolled oats and some ''chick feed." The "chick feed" I buy at the 
poultry supply stores. It is composed of a variety of seeds or 
grains, with a little charcoal, dried blood, or beef scraps and grit. 
Sometimes I make my own chick feed by mixing cracked wheat, 
kaffir corn, millet, steel cut oats, pearl barley and rolled oats to- 
gether, adding charcoal and dried beef scraps. I put more wheat 
and more oats into this mixture than any of the other grains. The 
chick feed that I buy has in addition some other seeds, such as 
rape or mustard, canary seed, hemp, etc. I buy chick feed to save 
myself the trouble of mixing. Chick feed and rolled oats is their 
main feed until they are six or eight weeks of age. I feed them five 
times a day at first, and I always leave a little feed trough or hop- 
per of chick feed where they can get it. I know this is contrary to 
the advice of many, but I found the weaker ones did not get the 
proper amount when all rushed for the food, and also it was a great 



11 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

comfort to me, if anything detained me beyond the usual feeding 
time, to know they had food before them. Also when fed at the 
usual hour they were not so ravenously hungry; they would not 
overload their little stomachs. 

Their morning meal at about six in the morning, consists of 
rolled or flake breakfast oats, next green feed, then chick feed, then 
rolled oats, green feed and the last feed after they are a few 
days old is hard boiled eggs (two for every fifty chicks), chopped 
fine, shell and all, mixed with dry bread crumbs or cracker crumbs, 
and an onion chopped very fine. I mix all together, adding a little 
pepper and salt. If I have no bread crumbs, I add Johnny cake 
or rolled oats to the onion and eggs. I always send them to bed 
with their little crops full. 

As They Grow Older 

I keep a thermometer under the hover in the brooder and lower 
the temperature one degree a day until it is down to sixty-five de- 
grees. After the chicks are six weeks old, unless the weather is 
unusually cold, they require no heat. For green feed they seem 
to prefer lettuce to anything else. Finely cut clover or alfalfa is 
excellent. The lettuce I cut up very fine at first, but in a few days 
they learn to tear it up, and lettuce suspended on a string or even 
thrown on the ground, gives them exercise and amusement as well 
as food. 

In the playroom, where the chicks are fed, the floor is covered 
with chaff. If I cannot get from the mill real chaff I cut up hay in 
the clover cutter, either wheat hay or alfalfa hay, to give them 
something to scratch in, and I throw a handful of chick feed into it 
for them to have something to reward their efforts. 

The alfalfa hay or chaff keeps them busy and exercising and this 
broadens their backs and increases the size and vigor of the ^^^ 
making organs which are already commencing to grow and which 
we must develop from the very first if we want to increase the ^^^ 
output. The chaff, or preferably the alfalfa hay chopped short, also 
conceals their little feet from their active and sometimes mis- 
chievous brothers and stops them from pecking the feet and draw- 
ing blood, which tastes so good that they will actually turn canni- 
bal and tear out and eat the bowels, sometimes causing great loss. 
This is always prevented by keeping the chicks busy scratching 
in deep chaff'. 

They have fresh water each time they are fed. The first meal 
is at about six in the morning, and if I fear that I may be later 
than that, I put fresh feed and water in their playroom over night, 
so that the hungry babies may not be kept waiting. They come 
out at daybreak, eat a little, and sometimes drink, and then go back 
and take another nap. 

The brooders must be cleaned twice a week the first week, three 
times a week afterwards, and every day when the chicks grow 
larger. The chicks should be dusted with insect powder about once 
a week. To do this I have a tin box' (a baking powder can with a 
perforated cover), put inr^ect powder into it and after dark raise 
the hover and sprinkle the powder liberally over the chicks. This 
will usually kec]) them free from lice. 



FIRELESS BROODERS HAVE COME TO STAY 



Fireless brooders have come to stay, at least in California. I 
do not mean to say that they would be suitable in a broiler plant, 
for there chicks are raised not to be muscular and sturdy, but tender 
and fat, and for that they require to be kept always warm and fed a 
fattening diet, and the heated brooder is or may be better adapted 
to their needs, but for the sturdy chick, the chick we want to 
develop into a first rate layer, or a large market fowl, or a winner 
at the show, the fireless brooder, properly handled, in this climate 
is excellent. 

Some few months ago I gave a description of a home-made 
fireless brooder which one of our readers made two or three years 
ago. Several made some by that plan and have expressed their 
great satisfaction at the ease with which they now raise their 
chickens. At the same time I mentioned that many of the poultry 
supply houses had excellent fireless brooders for sale. Since that 
time I have met a number of prominent poultry breeders here, who 
had been quite prejudiced against these fireless brooders, just as 
many poultry raisers years ago thoroughly disapproved of incuba- 
tors, and I find those who have tried the brooders without heat 
are loud in praise of them. 

One very successful business man who wins prizes every time 
he exhibits, said to me : "The fireless brooders are great. I have 
not lost more than three per cent of my hatches since I have used 
them." And in talking over the brooders with many others I find 
that one of the great advantages is that there is no fear of fire. 
Where no fire is, there is no danger of either smoke or a con- 
flagration, which is a very great comfort to a busy poultry man 
or woman, and especially at night. 

I have lately seen a brooder made by Mr. Hammons, the man- 
ager of the mammoth brooder plant near Los Angeles. It is 
easily made and has some points of special value not found in the 
one I last described. 

The brooder made by Mr. Hammons is his own invention and 
he has no objection to any one copying it. It is a box 20 inches 
square and 6 inches deep, and in each corner has a small block 4 
inches high for the frame of the hover to rest upon. The lower 
frame does not fit tightly in the box; this is one of the new im- 
provements ; there is a space of about a quarter of an inch on all 




Hammon's Fireless Brooder 



74 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POU I/FRY BOOK 

four sides ; this is for ventilation. A door four inches square is cut 
and hinged on one side of the box for ingress and egress of the 
chickens. The hover frame is covered with heavy double canton 
flannel, and seven square blankets cut out of good thick felt lie 
on top of the hover. These little blankets must not cover the 
quarter inch crack for ventilation, but should just fit inside the 
frame. This is another special novelty. The first week all of the 
blankets are used and each succeeding week one is removed, until 
at eight weeks of age the chicks have no blankets over them and 
are ready to leave the brooder. 

The brooder 20 inches square and made as I described will ac- 
commodate only 25 chickens. Mr. Hammons' experience has 
taught him that this number is the very best for one flock, as then 
each cliick can grow without crowding. 

At first he makes a nest of straw nearly filling the l)Ox, leaving 
a nicely rounded out place in the middle for the baby chicks to 
nestle in, and as they grow, less straw is needed, but a little should 
always be used to keep the floor and the chickens' feet clean. The 
blankets should be sunned and aired daily to keep them sweet and 
clean, as one airs one's own bed. 

Mrs. Frank Metcalf, the originator of the celebrated "Buckeyes." 
writes : "I have had fine success with Mr. Hammons' brooder and 
recommend it to others as the best I have ever used. I raised 
forty-seven out of fifty hatched in the last batch of Buckeyes. Fif- 
teen turkeys may be raised in one of these ; I found that eleven did 
very nicely, although more would have been better at first. We 
had little coops 30 inches wide, by six feet long and confined the 
chicks with the box inside of these for the first week ; after that 
they had wire runs out of doors." 

This brooder is simply a square box, 20 x 20 inches, 6 inches 
deep, made of ^-inch dressed tongue and grooved wood, with a 
hover laid on it instead of a lid, and with ventilation all round the 
edge of the hover and the sides of the box, giving free air around 
the chicks as it would be around a hen. It is a good imitation of a 
hen. 

Handles can be nailed on the box so it can be carried easily, 
chicks and all. 




"WHITE DIARRHOEA" IN BROODER CHICKS 



This is a disease which rarely attacks chickens hatched and 
raised by hens, and therefore it must be caused either by faulty 
incubators or wrong "mothering." 

We all know that at times quite a number of chicks in a brooder 
will be "stuck up behind," as it is sometimes called ; how they run 
about with their shoulders up, looking wizened and old ; how they 
try to huddle near the warmth and finally give up the hopeless 
struggle and die. 

"I think my chicks are .taking some disease and dying from an 
epidemic," said a lady, who, though a novice with incubators and 
brooders, was an old and most successful poultry woman with hens. 
These chicks had been overheated in the incubator I discovered 
two days after hatching. 

Another friend, a very clever surgeon, told me one chilly night 
his incubator lamp went out and all the eggs got stone cold. His 
wife could not bear to think of losing all those nice eggs after hav- 
ing watched them for nearly three weeks, so she advised lighting 
up again in hopes of saving some. This they did, and were re- 
warded with fifty nice, lively chicks, but in a few days they com- 
menced to die ; they were "stuck up behind," or they shivered and 
seemed quite thirsty, and at last, when only fifteen were left, he 
made some post mortem examinations, and he found the yolk of 
the egg, which is drawn up into the bowel cavity the last day of 
incubation, was still there, only it looked in some like a bit of 
rubber, in some like hard-boiled eggs, and again in others it was 
dark and putrid. Instantly he reasoned that it was that yolk that 
was killing the chicks by blood poisoning. 

He had only fifteen left, but he decided to experiment on them, 
so he opened them ; his wife begged him to give them chloroform, 
which I believe he did, and he removed the toughened 3^olk, sewed 
up the wound, fed them lightly and all of the patients recovered and 
lived to maturity. 

It was a delicate operation, but my friend had the skillful hand 
of a trained surgeon. I never attempted it myself, but have made 
many a sad post mortem on little chicks dying from being "stuck 
up behind," for I make it a rule to hold "post mortems" on all sub- 
jects that die in my yards. 

One time a whole incubator of eggs — 240 — were overheated by a 
meddlesome child playing with the regulator. Two days later 117 
hatched, the others were cooked hard. Every one of the 117 died, 
although some lived to be eleven days old. I did everything T 
could think of to save them (except the surgical operation), but 
lost all. 

I feel sure that either overheating or chilling so weakens the 
bowels that they cannot digest, or, rather, assimilate the egg, and 
that the yolk putrifies and causes blood poisoning; and that either 
overheating in the brooder or chilling before the chicks are a week 
old will have the same result. Also if the chicks are fed too soon 



76 



MRS. HASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY 1500K 



after hatching, the digestive juice or whatever it may be called, 
goes into the crop and gizzard to digest the new food and the yolk 
of ei^s:; is left to either digest very slowly or to not digest at all. 
In either case it will give diarrhoea and it may end fatally. 

I am often asked what to do for young chickens that have diar- 
rhoea, and also for those that are "stuck up behind." I know how 
almost hopeless these cases are, as they usually come from the un- 
assimilated yolk of egg, but I reply that rice boiled in milk, adding 
a teaspoonful of ground cinnamon to every pint of milk is about 
the best remedy for diarrhoea that I have tried, and to pick off 
with the fingers the dried excrement, slightly greasing the vent 
with carbolated vaseline is the only way for "stuck up." If the 
droppings are washed ofif, it is almost sure to chill the already 
weakened bowels and result fatally. 




VIGOR 

I never advise beginners to commence by trying to make a 
new breed, because very few are capable of success, just as there 
are but few artists who can paint a magnificent picture when they 
first begin to paint. To beginners I say, choose the breed and the 
standard that you like best, and keep to that breed. Then go on 
improving your flock. The way to do this is first of all, look to 
the vigor of your flock. It is VIGOR, first, last, and always that 
you want. "But," says the beginner, "how am I to get vigor, and 
how am I to keep it?" 

First to get vigor, you have to begin with the parents. 

Get your eggs from healthy, vigorous stock, that have been fed 
the ratio for vigor. Then hatch them properly, remembering that 
if you have a poor hatch (that is to say, if you find a number of 
chicks dead in the shell, if the hatch has been hurried by too much 
heat or retarded by too low a temperature), that those chicks which 
do manage to get out of the shell will not have vigor of constitu- 
tion, nor size of frame, nor the early development so necessary for 
success. A great deal depends upon the chick being properly 
hatched ; for that reason I advise beginners to commence hatching 
with hens, and when they do have an incubator, get a good standard 
incubator, and set one or two hens at the same time, keep them both 
running evenly together. Biddy will teach beginners a great deal. 
Then when the chicks are hatched, feed for vigor. Consult Nature, 
feed the fluffy little fellows after you have allowed them the neces- 
sary rest of at least thirty-six hours before feeding them. All a 
chick needs is rest and warmth to go on growing for about two 
days or even three ; after that time its digestive organs are ready for 
work ; then they must have the proper kind of food. 

The Crop 

Nature has given the chick a crop where the food is first re- 
ceived. In this crop is found a fluid, something like the saliva in 
human beings ; this saliva acts upon the food, softening it and other- 
wise preparing it for digestion. The food then moves on to the 
proventriculus, or stomach, where it is still acted upon by a fluid, 
and it finally passes to the gizzard. 

The dry chick feed, so universally used, composed of a great 
many fine grains, is admirably adapted to feeding the chick. There 
are some grains especially conducive to vigor ; the chief of these 
is oats, in any form, steel-cut, hulled, or rolled breakfast oats. 
There is another thing which Nature in the spring time gives the 
chicks, plenty of worms, bugs, insects. Often after an April shower, 
I have seen the ground covered with worms, but here in California 
there are not enough insects to supply the chickens, therefore the 
chicks must have animal food as well as succulent green food. I 
used to buy two pounds of hamburger steak three times a week, 
and nothing suited the chicks better, fed raw once a day. 



78 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



Exercise 

Vigor comes from exercise as well as from the proper food. 
Scratching is by far the best exercise for chicks. It keeps the organs 
of digestion in a healthy condition ; it gives the chick a good ap- 
petite ; it broadens the back, giving plenty of room for and 
developing the tgg organs, strengthens the muscles and enlarges 
the frame. 

Plow shall we give them work? The best way. of course, is 
to give the mother hen range. Chicks on range with the mother 
hen rarely acquire bad habits. It is chicks in the brooder that get 
into mischief, that quarrel and scrap, peck each others toes and get 
to be cannibals. The best way of preventing mischief is by bedding 
the brooders, one or two inches deep, with alfalfa hay. cutting to 
half-inch lengths in a clover cutter. The little chicks will eat some 
of this, and they will scratch in it for seed of the chick feed all 
day long. This chaff, or finely cut hay, hides the toes so they will 
not be tempted to peck each others' toes. Another method for 
exercise is planting the runs with wheat or barley. The chicks 
will scratch up or pull up the green sprouts. Hanging a head of 
lettuce up in the brooder house will also afford both amusement and 
exercise. 

Never let chicks be crowded at night. Many a chick that might 
have been a prize winner is disqualified, has off-colored feathers 
simply from having been crowded or bruised by a larger chick 
treading on it. A bruise, even a slight one, will often result in a 
white feather on a colored fowl or a black or red feather on a white 
fowl, and over crowding has the same effect. 




THE ONE-DAY-OLD CHICK TRADE 



The one-day-old chick trade has come to stay. This may be 
said to be a separate and rather new branch of the chicken business, 
but it has passed its experimental stage and both in this country 
and in England it is becoming popular. It can scarcely be said to 
be a new business, because it has been known and practiced in 
Egypt for thousands of years, in fact, it is the only way known 
there of raising chickens. As soon as one of the large hatcheries 
there hatch out the chickens, notice is sent to the surrounding vil- 
lages, and the twenty or forty thousand little chicks are sold within 
twenty-four hours, or before being fed. 

The one-day-old chick trade is, as its title indicates, the selling 
of baby chicks the day they are hatched. There has been and still 
is wide discussion over this business, which at first met with but 
little encouragement from the breeders of fancy poultry, some 
fanciers averring that it will injure the sale of their fancy eggs, 
while others even threaten to call in the humane society to prevent 
such cruelty as selling chickens at so tender an age. 

Some of our long-headed fanciers, both men and women, finding 
there was a demand for one-day-old chicks, rose to the emergency, 
doubled the price of their eggs in live chicks, and have made a 
great success of the business. I have had letters from Nevada, 
Montana, Arizona, New Mexico and even from Old Mexico and 
Texas, telling of the great success poultry raisers have had in 
those distant places, raising the chicks after their long journey 
from Los Angeles, one man writing that he had raised 88% and 
another 90% to maturity. 

L. Yarian of Lima, Ohio, writes : "No branch of the poultry 
business is attracting more attention at present and no branch of 
the poultry business is more worthy than the selling of day-old 
chicks, with hundreds of others in all parts of the United States. 
I believe it is the best branch of the poultry business ever orig- 
inated." 

Day-old chicks or chicks taken direct from the incubator and 
securely packed, can be safely shipped to all parts of the United 
States, except to a very few places, located in some out of the 
way place where the chicks would have to travel for more than 
three days. 

Occasionally a chick may die en route, but don't they die for you 
at home, when they are only a couple days old? Certainly the}^ 
do, and what proof can be advanced that the same chick that dies 
en route would not have died at home? Is it a cruel practice? I 
answer emphatically, No. Then some people will ask, what will the 
chick eat while on the trip? I reply, nothing, because the last thing 
the chick does before it leaves the shell is to absorb the yolk of 
the egg, which is nature's own food intended to furnish nourishment 
for the baby chick, until its little digestive system gets in good 
working order and is able to handle the food properly. 

Poultry men of experience are all agreed that more little chicks are 



so MRS. RASl.EVS WESTERX POULTRY BOOK 

killed by too early feeding than by delay in feeding, and all advise 
that the chick be not fed until it is at least two or three days old. 
In fact, some people attribute the diarrhoea of little chicks to too 
early feeding. If you overcrowd the chick's digestive system before 
it is ready to digest, you will have bowel trouble, and you know w-ith 
that you will not have the chicks very long. If it is the advice of 
men of experience, not to feed until at least the chick is a couple 
of days old, then why cannot the bird be traveling during that time, 
comfortably packed in a warm box. That chicks can be safely 
shipped, has been successfully proved through all who have ever 
attempted to do so, unless the chicks have very low vita.lity. Thou- 
sands are being shipped all over California and the neighboring 
states, most successfully, where if eggs had been expressed instead 
of chicks, many would have been broken en route, for they would 
have been handled many times rougher than the baby chicks. It 
would be a very hard-hearted expressman who would throw a box 
of baby chicks across an express car as they sometimes do when 
they handle eggs. The selling of day -old chicks should be en- 
couraged, especially among amateurs who often get so discouraged 
by having poor hatches that they give up after their first attempt. 
I have frequently had persons write to thank me for sending 
the chicks, saying that the chicks arrived in such good condition 
after three days' journey that they were better and stronger than 
those hatched at the same time that had not taken the journey. One 
man in particular, in Mexico, ordered fifty chicks and his success 
was so great that the neighbors around ended by getting two thou- 
sand last season, and this year others in the same neighborhood are 
already sending for them by the thousand. The day-old chick busi- 
ness has come to stay in America as well as in Egypt. 



BROILER RANCHES 



Broiler raising is one of the lucrative branches of the poultry in- 
dustrv. It is a business, however, which should not be entered into 
without study or experience. There are some very large broiler 
ranches in the neighborhood of Los Angeles. 

The ration for broilers is usually that given for chicks till they 
are four or five weeks of age, when they are finished off with a 
fattening ration for from two to three weeks. The average cost 
of raising a broiler is from fifteen to eighteen cents, while the selling 
price on contract is from fifty to sixty cents at a pound and a half 
in weight. 

Bv using the ration given for broilers after the first two weeks, 
some breeders have attained the weight of two pounds for their 
broilers at six weeks of age. This was in small lots of twenty-five 
to fifty broilers in a brooder.* 

•Se« Page 36. 



SUMMER WORK 



Suninier-is our time for rest from hatching- and now our energies 
must be directed to safely carrying through the summer the brooder 
chicks and helping the older hens to shed their old clothes and come 
out in fine and glossy raiment as expeditiously as possible. 

Let us first look over our youngsters and see how we can keep 
them growing. They need a motherly and watchful eye and ear, 
and a watchful nose also, as much as children do. 

Our own lives are made up of little things, but a little chick's 
life is made up of infinitely little things and it is through little 
things that success is attained or failure courted. "Be sure to keep 
the pullets growing," was the vague order given in one of the poul- 
try books that years ago I was studying. The author did not tell 
how to keep them growing nor did he mention what would prevent 
them growing, and I just hated that man, but since then I decided 
that, poor fellow, he most likely did not know himself and was only 
dealing in generalities to write a plausible article for his book or 
paper without definitely saying anything. But he was right ; we 
must keep the chickens growing and at the first indication that their 
growth has stopped we must investigate and find out the cause. 

What are the chief causes of chickens not doing well in the sum- 
mer? Lice and mites. If your chickens are not doing well, treat 
them for lice, even if you cannot see them, and give their house a 
good spraying with kerosine emulsion and a little carbolic acid. 

Comfort and proper food are the two great factors that will pro- 
mote the growth of our chicks, and cleanliness is the first require- 
ment. The drinking vessels at this season of the year require spe- 
cial care ; whatever may be used should be kept scrupulously clean. 
I find a sink brush is an excellent thing for scrubbing out the drink- 
ing vessels. They must be kept in the shade. They can be placed 
in a box set on its side or under a shed or tree, and besides being 
shaded, they should be frequently replenished during the day. 

Sunshine and Shade 

Provide shade for the growing chicks ; shade from the burning 
rays of the sun. Nothing is more conducive to health than sunshine, 
but it must be tempered by shade. Trees and bushes supply the 
best shade, as the temperature close under growing green leaves is 
several degrees cooler than under anything that is dry or dead. 
Few realize what a necessity shade is to fowls. 

If an epidemic siezes the half grown chicks, it is attributed to 
any cause on earth but the lack of shade, when in very many cases 
this is the sole cause. Vertigo, blindness, stunted growth may all 
be due to the glare of the sun on unsheltered yards. Shade is a 
necessity and if trees or shrubs are lacking, a good shelter can be 
made by driving a few stakes or small posts into the ground and 
making a frame upon which palm branches or brush can be laid. I 
have found a very serviceable temporary shade can be made by rip- 
ping open a common gunny sack and nailing four laths on the 



82 MRS. BASLEVS WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

edges. This little frame can be laid across the top of a small pen or 
even hung on wire fence and afford a grateful shade. 

Overcrowding or the chicks huddling for even one night may 
stunt the growth or be the means of bringing on an epidemic of 
colds which may result in roup. 

But how to stop them crowding? A mother hen often solves the 
difficulty by taking the half grown chicks on the perch with her, 
but for brooder chicks some other plan must be found ; the best 
way is to divide them into flocks or colonies of only twenty-five in 
each, and supply comfortable perches for them. The chicks will in 
a short time take to the perches of their own accord. 

At one time I had not enough colony coops and a great many 
chicks. I put them a hundred together in my regular henneries, 
but they crowded and I not only was losing every night some of 
the best, but the survivors looked very badly. They sweat off in 
the night all they had gained during the day. I realized that this 
meant failure for me if I could not control it. I spent my evenings 
going around and patiently placing the chicks, hundreds of them, 
on the perches till I was completely tired out, when I decided to 
make it so desperately uncomfortable for them they could not 
crowd. 

I bought a bundle of six-foot lath and made a lath platform or 
floor, by nailing them one and a half inches apart, the width of a 
lath, on stringers one inch by three. This made a flooring of small 
lath perches three inches above the ground, and made it so un- 
comfortable for the chicks to crowd that it entirely prevented it. 
I placed regular perches four or five inches above the lath floor and 
in a few nights on making my nightly rounds with my lantern, I 
had the satisfaction of finding all the chicks on the regulation 
perches. I have recommended the lath platform or floor to many 
and it has proved always successful. 

The Proper Range 

I would advise you to let the young chicks have free range, and 
when the pullets begin to show signs of maturing, or at any rate 
by the beginning of October, to put them into their permanent 
winter quarters, and to confine them so they will be under your 
control. They will lay more eggs if they do not range too far. It 
has been proved many times and with different breeds, that hens in 
confinement lay more eggs than those that run at large. The hens 
can be watched better, are less liable to suffer from maladies ; the 
nests can be kept cleaner and the eggs gathered more easily, while 
on free range many eggs are lost, nests stolen and the hens will 
acquire the habit, which we are breeding out of them, of laying 
only a few eggs and then wanting to set. 

In reply to the question of pullets or hens, the rule is pullets for 
winter layers and hens for breeders. The reason for this is that 
pullets in most breeds give more eggs than hens, and also usually 
do not want to sit as frequently, while the hen lays a larger egg 
and the chicks from them are larger and sturdier than from pullets. 
In some breeds the two-year-old hen lays quite as well as pullets, 



SUMMER WORK 83 

so I would advise you to save two-year-old hens for mothers, for 
your flock next year, especially if they are pure bred, and to mate 
them to one -or more, according to the number, vigorous, pure-bred 
cockerels. You had better sell ofif all the other cockerels, or keep 
them by themselves and eat them, or you might have them capon- 
ized, if you can find anyone to do it for you. The usual price for 
caponizing is from five to ten cents per head. 

Teaching Them to Roost 

It is sometimes difficult to persuade the young chickens at this 
time of the year (September), when moved to winter quarters, to 
go into the coop or house, which they should occupy. The little 
perversities insist on returning to the place where their mother 
has raised them, or they will huddle together on the ground, while 
the older ones fly into the low trees. Night after night, they have to 
be carried to their house. I, however, have found that by driving 
them gently with a broom for two or at most three nights, they 
will soon learn what is expected of them. A broom is by far the 
best way of driving chickens without frightening them. 

A broom in each hand is the best way of driving a large herd of 
turkeys, also, by gently waving them on each side. They will be 
afraid of the broom, but never become wild or afraid of the attend- 
ant in this way. It is entirely possible to drive the profits out of a 
flock of hens by stoning and pelting them every time they get into 
mischief. Be quiet in your manner if you wish to be successful 
with hens. Make the fowls feel that, when you are present there 
is a protector among them, not something that is likely to scare 
or harm them. The only way to keep your fowls on good terms 
with you is by keeping them tame and treating them in a common- 
sense manner. 

The Dry Hopper 

In the matter of feeding hens on a farm, I would much prefer the 
dry hopper method, keeping one hopper full of mixed grains and 
one hopper with beef scraps or granulated milk, and letting the 
fowls have free range until it is time to put them in their winter 
quarters. Then instead of only grain in the hopper, make the mix- 
ture of bran, corn meal and alfalfa meal, or take one of the good 
balanced rations sold at the poultry supply houses for. the hopper. 
The reason for this change which should be made gradually, is that 
the fowls being confined, do not get the exercise and consequently 
may get over fat from eating the whole grains, while the finely 
ground food has to be eaten more slowly. For fowls in confinement 
besides the hopper or finely ground feed, they should have a scratch 
pen in which the grain is thrown every morning for them to scratch 
in. This will give them the exercise which they would otherwise 
miss after being on free range all the summer. 

After getting the fowls accustomed to their winter quarters, you 
can, if you wish, let them out for two hours before sun down to 
run on the grass or green winter wheat, or alfalfa. This will give 
them a little exercise and change, but it is not absolutely necessary 



84 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



unless quite convenient. Of course, they must be supplied with 
green food and a balanced egg ration. 

By studying the scientific and practical management of poultry 
and remembering the three conditions of egg production, comfort, 
exercise and the proper rations, you cannot fail to make a success 
of poultry raising on your farm. 

If you decide upon making eggs for the table or market your 
principal object, I would strongly recommend you to have an egg 
route in your nearest city, taking the eggs in yourself to special 
customers. Your surplus fowls you could also dispose of to private 
customers, or if you did not wish to have the trouble of dressing 
them, you could send them to one of the markets. There are so 
many dififercnt ways of making money, if you only know how. 
Study that way and give your customers of the best. You will 
surelv make a success of it. 




CCC CQ<.^ 




Professor Gowell's Practical and Inexpensive Trap Nest 



THE TRAP-NEST 



"We are extremely new to the business of scientific poultry rais- 
ing and have a very hazy idea of some of it. We want to develop 
a tlock of heavy layers and would like to know what 'trap-nesting' 
means and how it is done." These words from one of my corre- 
spondents suggested a talk on the "trap-nest." 

Trap-nests are one of the inventions of this progressive age. It 
is the surest, quickest method of securing better eggs and more of 
them. A trap-nest is a nest box, the entrance to which closes auto- 
matically when the hen steps into the nest and keeps her in the box 
until the person in charge releases her, thus showing" which hen laid 
the egg. 

The progressive farmer or dairyman knows that he must test the 
milk of his cows and he finds when he begins to do so that he has 
cows in his herd that do not pay for their keep. It is the same in 
the poultry business ; in every flock of hens there are idlers that do 
not pay for their feed — they lay so few eggs that their owners are 
out of pocket by keeping them. I would not have believed this had 
I not discovered it to be the case with some of my own hens. The 
first season that I used trap-nests I found a hen which went on the 
nest every day, but only laid four eggs in one month, while another 
in the same yard laid twenty-nine. It was a revelation to me. The 
first year I discovered that nearly one-fourth of my hens barely paid 
for their board. That was not the kind of hens I wanted. I was in 
the business for profit and not loss, so I weeded them out, and very 
good eating they made. 

The second year I got, with a reduced flock, a twenty per cent 
less feed bill and fully twenty-five per cent increase of eggs — more 
eggs at less cost. Surely the trap-nests repaid me for the slight 
extra trouble of attending to them. They were not only of use in 
discovering the best layers, but I became better acquainted per- 
sonally with each hen. I found that the hen which laid the most 
eggs had the most fertile eggs, while the poor layers' eggs were not 
nearly so fertile. 

Trap-nests make the hens tame and tame hens lay more eggs 
than wild hens. Some hens may at first object to being handled, 
but after a few days they become reconciled to it. My White 
Plymouth Rocks were so tame that when I opened the door they 
would step into my hands or sit quietly until I lifted them up to 
ascertain the numbers of their leg-bands. 

In order to make the use of the trap-nests efficient, we must be 
able to know each hen individually, and for this purpose each hen 
must wear a leg-band, a small bracelet, made of copper or aluminum 
with a number on it. 

By means of the trap-nest one can discover any hen that is be- 
coming too fat, or too thin and she can be moved into another and 
more suitable pen. The trap-nest also renders a great service in 
detecting the egg eater. If there is reason to suspect a certain hen 
of this villainous habit, give her an egg while she is on the nest ; if 



86 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

the egg- after a time disappears it is pretty good evidence that the 
culprit has been discovered, and decapitation should be the verdict. 

Another advantage in using trap-nests is that it gives one an op- 
portunity to examine the hens for vermin, and by taking a small 
can of insect powder around occasionally while visiting the nests, 
and powdering the hens, they can be kept perfectly clean with 
very little trouble. I use a baking powder can, having perforated 
the lid, making a large pepper pot. A liberal use not blown on out 
of an air gun, but freely peppered on the hens, is very beneficial. 

I visit the nests about three times during the morning to release 
the hens and gather the eggs. One trap-nest is required for every 
three hens. When a hen is taken from her nest, the egg is marked 
with her leg-band number and the date and credit is given her on 
the record sheet or record books. This is a sheet or page marked 
of{ in squares of thirty-one days with the hen's name or number at 
the head of the line. I mark B for broody, S for sold, M for mar- 
keting and so on, and have in this way the history of each hen at a 
glance. 

Trap-nests have taught me which hens lay the best shaped eggs, 
which the largest size, which the strongest fertilized, which are the 
best winter layers, which pullets begin early, the number of eggs 
they lay in succession, the number of times they become broody 
and many other facts that can be learned in no other way; in fact, 
I find my records exceedingly interesting and profitable reading. 
Trap-nests were a perfect revelation to me and aided me in my suc- 
cess with poultry. 

There are a number of trap-nest plans, also trap-nests, on the 
market, ranging in price from $1 to $25. I have bought and tried 
several, and find that the most satisfactory trap-nest is one that has 
two compartments and opens in the front to take the hen off. In 
other words, it must be comfortable for the hen and convenient for 
the attendant. 

The nest box here described was made by G. M. Gowell, agricul- 
turist of the Maine experiment station, after a careful study of the 
various nest boxes on the market, and is intended to combine their 
excellences and avoid their defects. 

This is the box that is illustrated here, and the description is in 
Mr. Gowell's own words : The nest box is very simple, inexpensive, 
easy to' attend and certain in its action. It is a box-like structure 
and is twenty-eight inches long, thirteen inches wide, and thirteen 
inches deep — inside measurements. A division board with a circu- 
lar opening seven and one-half inches in diameter is placed across 
the box twelve inches from the back end. The back end is the nest 
projjer. Instead of a close door at the entrance, a light frame of 
inch by inch-and-a-half stuff is covered with wire netting of one- 
half inch mesh. The door is ten and one-half inches wide and ten 
inches high, and does not fill the entire entrance, a space of two and 
one-half inches being left at the l)ottom and one and one-half inches 
at the top, with a good margin at the sides to avoid friction. If it 
filled Ihe entire space it would be clumsy in its action. It is hinged 



THE TRAP-NEST 



87 



at the top and opens up into the box. The hinges are placed on the 
front of the door rather than at the back or center, the better to 
secure complete closing action. 

The "trip" consists of one piece of wire about three-sixteenths of 
an inch in diameter and eighteen and one-half inches long, bent as 
shown in drawing. A piece of board six inches wide and just long 




A Group of Four Trap Nests in Position 

enough to reach across the box inside is nailed flatwise in front of 
the partiton and one inch below the top of the box, a space of one- 
fourth on an inch being left between the edge of the board and the 
partition. The purpose of this board is only to support the trip 
wire in place. The six-inch section of the trip wire is placed across 
the board and the wire slipped through the quarter-inch slot and 
passed down, close to and in front of the center of the seven and 
one-half inch circular opening. Small wire staples are driven nearly 
down over the six-inch section of the wire into the board so as to 
hold it in place and yet let it roll sidewise easily. When the door 
is set, the half-inch section of the wire marked "A" comes under a 
hardwood peg, or a tack with a large round head, which is driven 
into the lower edge of the door frame. The hen passes in through 
the circular opening and in doing so presses the wire to one side and 
the trip slips from its connection with the door. The door promptly 



88 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



swings ilowii and fastens itself in place by its lower edge strik- 
ing the light end of a wooden latch or lever, pressing it down and 
slipping over it. The latch is five inches long, one inch wide and 



G^**^ 






/ 




i 



half an inch thick. The latch acts quickly enough to catch the door 
before it rebounds. The double box with nest in the rear end is 
necessary, as when a bird has laid and desires to leave the nest, she 
steps to the front and remains there until released. 

With one section only, she would be very likely to crush her egg 
by standing upon it. 

The boxes, which have no tops, are arranged in cases in groups 
c>f four and slide in and out like drawers. They may, of course, be 
used singly by simply providing" a cover for each box. \\'hen a 
hen has layed, the nest is pulled part way out or the cover lifted, as 
the case may be, and the hen removed. 

I have made nest boxes myself from these plans. I used wooden 
shoe boxes or cracker boxes, and easily made two in a morning. The 
wire was a little difficult to bend, but a boy did it for me. One 
word of caution: It is well to have nests enough, because the hens 
must be coaxed to lay. and when they get ready, they must not be 
kept waiting. If a hen is dissatisfied with her nest she may hold her. 
egg for twenty-four hours and in time be taught to lay only every 
other day. It is wise to encourage the hens to lay and I have found 
these trap-nests so cleverly invented by Mr. Gowell are much liked 
bv the hens, while others I bought frightened the hens and pre- 
vented their laying. They were enclosed on the nest, pushing their 
heads out and trampling on the eggs, breaking some and entirely 
defeating the object of the nest, which is "more eggs and better 
hens." 



GRIT AND GIZZARD 



One of the. most important things necessary for the health of 
poultry is a supply of. grit of the right kind. Nature provides a use 
for every organ of the body, and in every body an organ for each 
specific duty. Most animals are provided with teeth to enable them 
to prepare their food for the action of the fluids secreted by the 
stomach, pancreas and liver. It will also be remembered that be- 
sides being crushed in the mouth by the teeth, the food is acted 
on by the saliva. 

Nature has not endowed birds with teeth, but it has provided a 
good substitute in the gizzard. This is a tough, strong, muscular 
organ, so situated in the body that all food taken into the mouth 
must pass through it. Previous to passing through the gizzard, 
all food has been received into a pouch or bag, the crop, where it re- 
mains some time. There it is soaked with and acted upon by a fluid 
secreted in and by this pouch, and a modified process takes place 
similar to that of the saliva in the mouth of animals with teeth. 

The food gradually leaves this pouch (the crop), passes through 
the proventriculus and into the gizzard, where it is ground up, and 
thence it goes to the intestines, where, after being mixed with other 
fluids, it passes on and the nutriment is absorbed. No doubt a 
bird may be made to exist for a time, perhaps a considerable time, 
without grit, just as a person may live for years with bad teeth, 
or perhaps with none at all. We all know how little such people 
enjoy their food or health, and surely if the birds do not have the 
means of masticating their food they can neither be healthy nor 
enjoy their food, and will not give their owners a good return for 
their food and care. 

The Best Grit 

The gizzard is a marvelously strong little mill and when pro- 
vided with the proper grit, or little grindstones, will keep the fowls 
in good condition. Hard, sharp substances are necessary, such as 
flint stones or granite pounded up. Broken china, earthenware, 
glass and all such substances broken up make excellent grit. 

When the grit has not sharp edges, the harder parts of the food 
are not digested, husks and green food accumulate and frequently 
cause a stoppage between the crop and the gizzard, so that nothing 
but liquid can pass. A lack of shari:) grit brings on diarrhoea ; also, 
the gall overflows and sometimes the gall-sack bursts. There are 
two passages, one into, and the other out of the gizzard ; they are 
both on one side of it. The one leading out of it is much smaller 
than the one leading into it. Thus the gizzard can receive larger 
substances but cannot get rid of them until they are ground small ; 
and sharp grit is needed for this. 

AAHien T first came to California T purchased a grist mill and. alas, 
I had broken china also ! T had two dozen hens just bought and 
proceeded to grind up some crockery for them. The man who was 
building mv fence thought it dreadfully cruel of me. remarking, "It's 
enough to kill a dog; let alone those poor hens." "The hens will not 



90 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

cat it unless they need it," was my reply, though I agreed with him 
about the dog. To his surprise those hens ate almost a quart of it. 
None of them died and they soon eonimenced to lay. Give the little 
chicks the small chick-grit. I'jght pounds of this will be sufficient 
for the tirst two months of the life of fifty little chicks and then 
they should have a larger size. One hundred pounds of hen grit, 
which can be bought at the poultry supply houses, is sufficient to 
last a hundred hens about a year. 

Pigeons consume more grit than hens, proportionately to size. 
Give pigeons grit to keep them healthy. My attention to grit and 
gizzards was aroused many years ago. "W ill madame look to 
what I have found in the interior of this fowl?" said my French 
maid to me. She had opened the gizzard of a fat young hen and 
had found thirteen china buttons and two pearl buttons or parts of 
them, mixed with the black adobe mud. Since that da}^ I have tried 
to keep my fowls well supplied with grit. 

Starve for Lack of Grit 

"I cannot think what ails my fowls," said one lady. "They have 
all the food they can eat, but here is another dead." "Have you ever 
opened one to discover the trouble?" I asked. "Yes, but I never 
find anything." "Well, I think 3-our fowls have indigestion," I 
said, "but we will hold a post mortem on this one and try to solve 
the difficulty." We found a medium sized gizzard, full of dark 
earth, no stones, no grit, not even buttons. That told the story, 
the fowls were starving to death in the midst of plenty just for lack 
of grit to grind their food. 

I occasionally make curious discoveries when I hold a post mor- 
tem, for the contents of a school boy's pockets are scarcely more 
varied than those of a fowd's gizzard, when not supplied with the 
proper kind of grit. My Indian Runner ducks, being great pets and 
never doing any mischief, w^ere allowed the freedom of my place. 
I had noticed them around the out-door fireplace where the caul- 
dron was boiled, old boxes, building scrap and rubbish being used 
for the fire. 

I thought the ducks were picking up bits of charcoal, but one 
morning I found a fine duck dead. The post mortem revealed an 
enormous gizzard, twice the usual size, on opening which I found 
a number of nails, some bits of wire, two two-pointed tacks. Sev- 
eral of the nails were embedded in the gizzard and the largest one 
pierced quite through it. The ducks had always been supplied with 
plenty of river sand, but this particular duck seemed to have de- 
veloped an ostrich's appetite. After that I gave them also the 
smaller chick grit and with most excellent results, for never ducks 
laid as many eggs as did those. Grit, oyster shells, or clam shells, 
and charcoal are indispensable for fowls. 

The Symptons of Grit Craving 
When your hens seem "mopey" just break up some old china, 
and see if they will not refuse the best food for it. 

When vou see water run from a hen's mouth, when she puts 



GRIT AND GIZZARD 91 

her head down, the trouble is indigestion. Give her grit and char- 
coal. 

When your hens do not care for their food, tone up their appe- 
tites by a dose of grit. 

When they are not laying as well as you think they should, give 
them grit. 

When hens moult slowly, it is often from impaired digestion. 
Give them grit and charcoal. 

When you want the hens to derive all the benefit of the nutrition 
in the food, supply them with good, sharp grit. 

If you want vigorous, profitable hens, give them a liberal supply 
of grit. 

When your hens are too fat, when they lay thin shelled eggs, 
give them grit. 

A friend of mine was very much troubled with soft-shelled eggs. 
She got her husband to take his wagon to the hills, where there is 
a good quarry of what is called rotten granite. He brought home 
a load of it, and in a few days the hens laid hard shelled eggs and 
she told me that the shells were so hard that the chicks could hardly 
break out of them. 

The value of good sharp grit can scarcely be overestimated, and 
yet even intelligent people do not realize it. Some think that there 
is grit enough in the natural soil. This is rarely the case, for hens, 
wild birds, or pigeons pick up the sharpest and best grit, so that 
even on a farm where the hens have free range there is rarely 
enough grit of the proper kind, and when fowls are kept yarded 
there is never enough unless they are artificially supplied. If you 
doubt this, try the experiment of giving your hens some broken 
china. The pieces should not be larger than a pea and should have 
three sharp corners. You will be surprised to see how eagerly the 
hens will eat the china. 

The best layer I ever had laid 225 eggs in nine months and 
moulted during that time. She was the greatest eater of grit I 
ever saw. Every night before going to roost she ran down to the 
grit box and took three pieces. Every time she laid an egg she 
refreshed herself with some grit, and I learned by observation that 
all my best layers were the most constant visitors to the grit box. 
Hens that consume the most grit are those that get the most nutri- 
tion out of their food, lay the most eggs, are the healthiest, have the 
most fertile eggs and pay the best. 

Grit to grind the food and charcoal to keep it pure during this 
process and, for laying hens, oyster shells to supply the lime for 
the eggshells, these are so necessary that we are almost tired of 
the mention of them, in the poultry papers, but "lest we forget" I 
have written about them again. 



PESTS OF A POULTRY YARD 



Fleas 

The common hen Ilea (pulex aviumj is prevalent in the Pacific 
States. It is found in filthy hen houses, especially those located 
on sandy soil. Dirty nests, cracks, dust and dark corners are fav- 
orite breeding places for them. They produce great irritation of 
the skin and in young birds the growth may be permanently stunted 
and many young chickens killed by them. 

For treating fiea bites, bathe the bites with vinegar and water, or 
lemon juice, and apply carbolated vaseline or lard in which a little 
carbolic acid has been mxed — 5 drops of carbolic acid (90 per cent) 
to a tablespoonful of lard. 

To free poultry houses and yards of the fleas, use whitewash 
freely, adding a pint of carbolic acid to every twelve gallons of 
whitewash. Spray it or slop it thoroughly into all the corners and 
cracks. Dark dusty places in the poultry yard afiford favorable 
breeding places for fleas. These corners should be soaked with 
hot .soapsuds or boiling salt water to kill the young broods of fleas. 
Use carbolized lime, tobacco dust and moth balls in the nests. 

Bedbugs and Ticks 

Bedbugs sometimes attack poultry on their roosts and suck their 
l>lood. In California there is also a species of tick that is fatal to 
poultry which somewhat resembles the bedbug of the East. To 
destroy them fumigation is usually employed, either fumigating 
with sulphur, or, better still, the cyanide process used for the scale 
on citrus trees. 

To fumigate with sulphur close every door and window^ and see 
that there are no cracks to admit the air. Burn one pound of sul- 
phur for every 100 square feet of floor space in the house. A house 
10x10 will require one pound of sulphur; one 20x10, two pounds, 
and so on. The sulphur must be burned in iron vessels which 
should be set on gravel or sand so there may be no danger from 
fire. Into each vessel put a handful of carpenter shavings saturated 
with kerosene and upon these sprinkle the sulphur. Apply a 
match to the shavings and hastily leave the house, closing the door. 
The house should remain closed for 5 hours. Fumigation may be 
followed by thoroughly whitewashing the inside of the house. 
Painting or spraying the house with corrosive sublimate is also 
very effective. Care must be used in handling this poison. 

Mites 

There are several varieties of the tiny blood-sucking mites to be 
found in carelessly kept henneries. The red mite is the most com- 
mon and active of all parasites which attack birds. It is about one 
thirty-fifth of an inch in length, white or grey in color, except when 
filled with blood, when they will be red or black. It hides by day 
in the corners and crevices of buildings, nests, perches, floors, etc., 
wliere thev mav be found in clusters. At night these clusters scat- 



PESTS OF A POULTRY YARD 93 

ter over the birds and by pricking the skin can fill themselves with 
blood. They are injurious not only on account of the blood they 
draw, but becalise of the itching pain and loss of rest. They will 
even kill young fowls and setting hens. When they are discovered 
vigorous means should be adopted to get rid of them. The Iowa 
State Experiment Station gives a full description of the best and 
cheapest way of exterminating these mites. At this station the 
kerosene emulsion was found to be perfectly effective in killing 
them. It is made as follows : 

KEROSENE EMULSION— In one gallon of boiling water dis- 
solve one pound bar of soap or one pound of soap powder. Remove 
from the fire, add immediately one gallon of kerosene, churn or agi- 
tate violently for ten minutes, or until the solution becomes like a 
thick cream. If the oil and water separate on standing, then the 
soap was not caustic enough. Take one quart of this, add to it ten 
quarts of water ; spray thoroughly the houses every three days with 
this diluted emulsion until all the mites are exterminated. To make 
it more effective, you may add one pint of crude carbolic acid to the 
emulsion as soon as taken from the fire. The diluted emulsion (one 
part to ten of water) is also used to rid fowls of lice. By using this 
spray once a month always, the houses can be kept perfectly free 
from vermin and thoroughly disinfected from disease. 

Lice 

There are nine varieties of lice affecting poultry. Some of these 
lice spread rapidly. One infested bird is capable of spreading the 
vermin through a large flock. They cause dumpishness, drooping 
wings, indifference to food and may stunt or even kill the chicks. 
One of the best means of preventing lice is the dust bath. This 
bath should be a wallow of freshly turned earth, mellow and 
slightly damp, out of doors under some tree in the summer time, or 
in a box six or eight inches deep in the hennery in the rainy weather. 
Provided with a good dust bath, healthy hens will almost keep 
themselves clean from lice. When fowls are badly infested with 
lice they should be well dusted with a good lice powder, of which 
there are a number on the market. Two good powders can be 
made as follows : To one peck of sifted coal ashes add one-half 
ounce of 90 per cent carbolic acid. When mixed thoroughly, add an 
equal amount of tobacco dust. 2nd : Take half peck of sifted road- 
dust, four fluid ounces of any good liquid lice killer; mix thoroughly 
and add bulk for bulk of tobacco dust. 

The roosts may be painted with liquid lice killer, or the fowls 
placed in a box for three hours, the floor of which has been painted 
with lice killer and the top covered with burlap, care being taken 
not to smother the hen. The nits of lice hatch about every five 
days. The treatment should be repeated until all the young lice 
have been exterminated. 

How to Keep Poultry Free from Lice 
The following formula is used at the Maine and Cornell Ex- 
periment Stations : 



94 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

Take three parts of gasoline, one part of crude carbolic acid. 
Mix these together and add gradually, while stirring, enough plas- 
ter of Paris to take up all the moisture, the liquid and the dry 
plaster should be thoroughl}^ mixed and stirred, so that the liquid 
will be unifornially distributed through the mass of plaster. When 
enough plaster has been added, the resulting mixture should be a 
dry, pinkish brown powder, having a fairly strong carbolic odor 
and a rather less pronounced gasoline odor. 

Do not use more plaster, in mixing, than is necessary to blot 
up the liquid. This powder is to be worked into the feathers 
of the bird affected with vermin. The bulk of the application 
should be in the fluff around the vent and under the wings. Its 
efficiency can be very easily demonstrated by anyone to his own 
satisfaction. Take a bird that is covered with lice and apply the 
powder in the manner described. After a lapse of about a minute, 
shake the bird, lessening its feathers with the fingers at the same 
time, over a clean piece of paper. Dead and dying lice will drop on 
the paper in great numbers. Anyone who will try this experiment 
will have no further doubt of the wonderful efficiency and value of 
this powder. 

For a Spray or Paint 

To be applied to roosting boards, walls and floor of the hen 
house, the following preparation is used : 

Three parts of kerosene and one part crude carbolic acid. This 
is stirred up when used and may be applied with any of the hand 
spray pumps or with a brush. 

In both of these formulae it is highly important that crude car- 
bolic acid be used, instead of the purified product. Be sure and 
insist on getting crude carbolic acid. It is a dark brown, dirty 
looking liquid and its value depends on the fact that it contains 
tar oil and tar bases in addition to the pure phenol (carbolic acid). 




DISEASES OF POULTRY 

There is no. reason for chickens being unhealthy except, as a 
general thing, from the carelessness or ignorance of their owners. 
Carelessness in not keeping the fowls clean, in not being regular in 
their feeding, in the lack of pure water and shade and in giving them 
either draughty sleeping quarters or too close and badly ventilated 
coops. 

Poultry keepers in the East, after years of trouble and anxiety 
over roup, which I really think is much w^orse there than here, are 
coming to the conclusion that open front houses even there where 
they have zero weather, will prevent roup and colds. 

Here in our favored climate, open front houses, cleanliness and 
plenty of green food are a sure prevention of roup. 

I am glad to be able to say that although there are more than 
double the number of pure bred fowls in California now than ever 
before, there is a minimum amount of roup. Poultry raisers are 
using common sense in the feeding and care of chickens, looking 
upon poultry raising as a business, a money proposition, when 
handled in a business-like way, and the result is very little roup 
and less sickness of any kind. 

Roup must be transmitted by contagion ; healthy fowls will not 
have it unless a roupy fowl is introduced into the flock, or the in- 
fection is brought in through water or food, through coops in which 
roupy fowls have been confined or through the infection being 
carried on the garments of the attendant. 

Many Kinds of Roup 

It was formerly the custom to call nearly all the ailments of 
fowls due to taking cold by the name of "Roup." Dr. Salmon of 
the Bureau of Animal Industry, Washington, D. C, makes a dis- 
tinction, however, between the different kinds of colds or roup, 
simple catarrh and infectious catarrh, also called roupy catarrh, and 
diphtheric catarrh or diphtheric roup. Simple catarrh is easily 
cured, will often get well without treatment ; roupy catarrh is very 
infectious and more difficult to cure; but diphtheric roup is the 
worst of all and greatly resembles the diphtheria of children. There 
is also another disease called "Canker" which much resembles 
diphtheric roup, but is less severe. It is caused by another germ 
and needs other treatment. 

Catarrh 

All of these diseases commence in the same manner. Usually 
the first symptoms noticed are a slight discharge from the nostrils, 
eyes wet and watery from mucus, and often some bubbling at the 
corners with coughing and sneezing. In simple catarrh more seri- 
ous symptoms will not have developed in a few days, but with 
roupv catarrh the discharge thickens and obstructs the breathing 
by filling the nostrils and there is a foul odor to it. Sometimes 
swell head develops, then one or both eyes are closed, the birds 
wipe their eyes on their shoulders, sleep with their heads under 



96 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

their wings and the discharge sticks to and dries on their feathers. 
This dried nuicus will spread the disease throngh the flock, for in it 
are the germs of the disease, the seeds of which may be sown when- 
ever the chicken moves or shakes itself, or when others touch it or 
a feather falls. Chickens with this disease should be isolated, the 
mucus gently washed ofiF, using a disinfectant in the water, a few 
drops of carbolic acid or a tablet of protiodide of mercury in a pint 
of water. Roupy catarrh is difBcult of cure, is very infectious and 
often fatal. 

Diphtheric Roup 

Diphtheric roup is the worst of all. It recjuires different reme- 
dies to the simple catarrh or roupy catarrh. It commences usually 
in the same manner with a slight cold, but the mucus membrane of 
the mouth, throat, nasal passages, and the eyes are affected. False 
membrane forms on these parts, very much resembling in appear- 
ance the diphtheria of children, and by some thought to be the 
same. At first the patches are small and scattered but have a tend- 
ency to run together. The disease appears suddenly, the fowl is 
feverish, dumpish and disinclined to eat. As the disease progresses 
the mouth and throat become filled with false membrane and 
mucus until the fowl dies of suft'ocation, or the poison from the 
disease gets into the circulation and the fowl dies of blood poison- 
ing or paralysis. 

Canker 

Canker is sometimes confounded with diphtheria. It is an ulcer- 
ative disease of the mouth. It is frequently found in cock birds after 
fighting and is common in birds that have been working in mouldy 
or musty litter or that have been fed on spoiled grain. The disease 
is seldom noticed until the fowl shows a collection of yellowish 
ulcers or cheesy growth on the roof of the mouth, the side of the 
tongue or the angles of the jaws, and sometimes at the opening of 
the windpipe. It is very common among pigeons. 

Roup cures can be bought at the principal poultry supply houses, 
but for the use of those living in the country too far away to pro- 
cure these, I will give a few simple remedies that can be easily and 
quickly used in the first stages, thus arresting an epidemic. For 
local treatment a good atomizer is the most satisfactory way of ap- 
plying it, or a small syringe, and as han<ly as anything is a small 
sewing machine oil can. 

Remedies 

(1) When first the cold is noticed, put a bit of Bluestone (sul- 
phate of copper) in the drinking water. A piece as big as a navy 
bean in a quart of water, not any stronger. This is a germ killer, 
dries up the cold in the head, is a disinfectant and will prevent the 
other chickens taking the disease. So if any chick takes cold, put 
this into the water of the whole flock for a week to prevent the 
disease spreading. 

(2) For a Common Cold : A pill of quinine and one of asafoetida 
(1 gr. of each), with half a teaspoonful of cayenne pepper will fre- 
quently cure a cold in one night. Aconite also is a good remedy. 



DISEASES OF POULTRY 97 

One drop in a teaspoonful of milk. Always give a grown hen the 
same dose as to adult human beings. 

The following are cures for Roupy Catarrh : 

(3) One tablespoonful of castor oil, half a tablespoonful tur- 
pentine, a tablespoonful of kerosene, a tablespoonful of camphor- 
ated oil and four drops of carbolic acid. Shake before using. Squirt 
a drop up each nostril and into the cleft of the mouth, and for swell 
head rub the whole head with it. This is an excellent cure and 
cheap. 

(4) Put one cupful of kerosene in half a gallon of water ; the 
oil will float on top ; dip the fowl's head slowly into this, holding it 
under whilst you count three. It will sneeze and cough and you 
must wipe off all the mucus with a rag and carefully burn the rag. 
Repeat the treatment twice a day, 

(5) Take of lard two tablespoonsful ; vinegar, mustard, cayenne 
pepper, each one tablespoonful ; mix thoroughly, add flour enough 
to make a stiff dough. Give a bolus of this the size of the first 
joint of the little finger. One dose frequently cures. If not, repeat 
in twelve or twenty-four hours. 

(6) Dr. N. W. Sanborn gives as a remedy : "Spray all mucus 
surfaces with the following: Extract of Witch Hazel, four table- 
spoonsful ; liquid carbolic acid, four drops ; water, two tablespoons- 
ful. Do this twice a day, squeezing the bulb of the atomizer five 
times for each nostril and twice for the mouth. If there is any 
watery or foamy eyes, give one squeeze for each. 

(7) One part of pulverized gum camphor and seven parts of 
pulverized liquorice root. Blow up the nostrils, into the cleft of 
the mouth and down the throat. This should be made fresh, as the 
camphor evaporates. 

(8) Equal parts of powdered alum, magnesia and sulphur blown 
into the throat and nostrils through a quill. 

(9) For Diphtheric Roup : Peroxide of hydrogen is, I think, the 
best remedy. Dilute with from one to three parts of water. The 
solutions, when applied to diseased surfaces, begin to foam, and 
should be repeated until there is no more bubbling. A little of the 
solution forced into the nostrils by the use of a dropping tube or 
atomizer is driven higher up into the nostrils by the force of the 
foaming, reaching parts otherwise out of touch. 

(10) For Canker: Four grains of Sulpho-carbolate of zinc to 
one ounce of water. Paint the canker spots with this night and 
morning and in three days the germs will be destroyed. The chick- 
ens should have nourishing food, such as bread and milk and 
chopped onions. 

If you have any doubts as to whether the disease is canker or 
roup, you had better use the peroxide of hydrogen one day and the 
zinc the day following, alternating the treatment. It will not do 
to mix the two medicines at the same time, as one neutralizes 
the other. 



TOWN-LOT FOWLS 



The rear of a city lot can be made to yield both profit and pleas- 
ure when devoted to poultry and fruit trees, and many families may 
enjoy fresh eggs and an occasional roast chicken, or a "Christ- 
massy" chicken pie by simply utilizing some of the vacant space 
in the rear yards of their homes. 

We sometimes hear that chickens cannot be raised successfully 
on a city lot because the land is too valuable and that the business 
will not pay where all the food has to be bought. 

The value of a city lot is often over-estimated when chicken 
raising is suggested for the back yard, but the question is, what 
income is your back lot now yielding? 

I expect that the majority of city back lots are either an outlay 
or an eyesore to their owners. They grow nothing but grass or 
weeds, for which nothing is received. \Mien mowed there is that 
expense to it, with the water tax added, which is not inconsiderable. 

As much as I like lawn and flowers in the front of the house, I 
think the ofttimes neglected back yard should be made valuable also. 
Nothing to my taste can improve it like fruit trees, which are bene- 
fited by having poultry around them, and will bring in good re- 
turns, as I know by experience. 

The main requisite to making a success of poultry raising on a 
city lot, or anywhere else in fact, is to be thoroughly in love with 
your fowls and your trees. The man or wonian wdio hates to work 
around the hens, who grudges the time and trouble, will never 
make a success of the work and had better let it alone. 

How to plan your back lot? It should be fenced to suit your 
space and poultry. If it is a small yard, it may be difficult to fence 
it high enough for the active breeds such as the Leghorns, but if 
you use poultry netting and do not place any rail on the top, you 
will not have any trouble with the American breeds, even with a 
comparatively low fence. If there is no rail on the top, the fowls 
do not see where the netting ends and they seldom try to find the 
top, but with a rail they light on that and over they go. 

It may help a beginner to see the plan of my chicken yard on a 
city lot. The chicken yards are 50 feet by 32 feet ; there are eight 
fruit trees and three water faucets in the yard. The fruit trees, 
plum, peach and fig, yielded several dollars' worth of fruit two 
years after planting, and as they grew older, increased the value of 
the crop in the back lot, and gave the fowls shade. 

Hen House Construction 

The earth around the trees is kept well spaded and moist, so the 
hens enjoy it as a dust bath and that keeps them clean from lice and 
mites. The hen house is a shed thirty-two feet long and eight feet 
wide. It is divided in two parts for two pens of fowls. Each end 
of it is Composed of a roosting room eight feet by eight feet, with 
space enough for forty hens, if necessary, although I never wish 
to keep more than twenty-five in each side. 



TOWN-LOT FOWLS 



99 



The roosting room is separated from the scratching pen only by 
a board twelve inches wide, to keep out the straw. The back and 
sides of the roosting room are of tongued and grooved flooring and 
perfectly tight. The whole length of the front of the shed is open, 
except the roosting room, which has a front of burlap. One side of 
the roosting room is entirely open into the scratching pen, so that 
the roosting room is only tightly enclosed on two sides and has 
free ventilation into the scratching pen and only the burlap on the 
south side. Consequently my fowls never have colds. The roof is 

PLANcjpcuickxh: 




of shakes twelve inches to the weather. The back of the shed is 
six and a half feet high, the front five feet. 

At the south end of the two yards is a smaller one for setting 
hens or for young chicks, as they do better kept away from the 
older fowls. This small yard is very useful for fattening chickens, 
turkeys or ducks for the table, and in it I have a small portable 
coop for the youngsters. 

I have a water faucet in each yard. This is a great saving of 
labor and anxiety, for if I am to be absent any length of time I 
leave the faucet dripping just a little and know the hens will not 
go thirsty. 

I feed grain in the scratching pens, dry mash in hoppers, green 
lawn clippings and refuse vegetables, besides the table scraps. 

There is a saying that an American family wastes or throws 
away food enough to support a French family. Why not give all 
this waste to some hens? The table scraps, the scraping of the 
plates, the outer leaves of cabbages, even the parings of potatoes, 
apples and nearly all vegetables now consigned to the garbage pail 
would be enough to almost keep i few hens. 



IIH^ MRS. I^ASl.KVS WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

Possibilities of a Town Lot 

ll;i\o you any iiloa what rotunis one dozen laying pullets or 
luMis would give you? 1 have, for 1 have kept that nunilier on a 
town lot. T have not an aceurate aeeount of all the eggs laid, but 
I know there were over twH> thousand in one year, more than 
enough to supjily a family of six with delicious fresh eggs and to 
raise between fifty and sixty ytning fowls for frying and roasting, 
besiiles the old ones for stews or for "poulet au ris." a Freneh dish 
of which we are extremely fond. 

Xine-tenths of the home owners have sufficient space in their 
back yards to proiluce enough chickens and eggs to supply their 
own families, and in this way greatly lessen the expense of living. 
or in other words, make enough to pay their meat and grocery 
bills, or else give them all the fresh eggs they can consume with 
a nice fry always available for Sunday dinner or when a friend 
unexpectedly drops in. 

I will give you a formula. for feeding hens on a town lot which I 
will guarantee will give yon eggs in abundance and at all seasons. 
It is easy to feed, for all you have to do is to mix it dry in a big 
box and dip np half a bucket, once or twice a week and fill a box 
or hopper full of it as the need is. It is quite dry and will keep any 
leng-th of time. 

Formula for Balanced Ration 

Mix by measure two parts bran, one part corn-meal, one part 
oat-meal, one part alfalfa meal, one part beef scraps. Keep some 
of this in a box or hopper or bucket — dry. perfectly dry — always 
before the hens. This dry food in the hopper lasts quite a long 
time, for the hens prefer the table scraps which are fed to them 
only once a day (at nights and they like lawn clippings, but this 
dry feed keeps them in just the right condition for egg production 
— neither too fat nor too thin. 

If yon do not want to take the trouble to mix this for yourself, 
yon can go to any of the poultry supply houses and buy the food 
already mixed. This food when put up by reliable firms is what is 
called the "balanced ration" — that is. it contains the elements of 
the egg — and when the hens are fed this they simply cannot help 
laying. They are egg machines which turn the properly balanced 
ration into eggs. 



THE MOULTING SEASON 



The moult with hens in the natural state lasts from sixty to 
a hundred days, but with some hens, especially with hens that have 
hard, close-growing feathers, the moult and the results of it will 
sometimes last over a hundred and fifty days ; in fact I have known 
of some that went six months without laying any eggs. Too long 
to spend half a year dressmaking. Think of the loss to their 
owners! I did not wonder at the man who told me of it, saying 
that he just turned them out and "let the blamed things rustle 
for themselves," but I thought if he had helped them "rustle" 
perhaps they would not have been so long about it. 

Let us consult Nature as you know I am very fond of doing. 
After the wild bird has raised her young and her responsibilities 
are somewhat over, she moults. The older she is the longer and 
slower is the process of dropping her feathers and growing them 
again, because as she ages her vitality is gradually lessening. It is 
the same with hens; the older a hen becomes the longer will be 
the period of the moult, and not only that but the later will it com- 
mence. Let us again turn to Nature and in this copy her. We 
want the old hens, if we keep them at all, to be the parents of our 
young next spring and we are only keeping them over for a certain 
reason (or for sentiment), as they have, perhaps, proved them- 
selves to be our very best layers, or as the parents of our prize win- 
ners, or may be prize winners themselves and therefore we want 
their offspring in the hopes of perpetuating these excellent traits. 

The Starving Process 

How shall we help these elderly hens to get quickly through the 
moult? Some years ago I read of a man in New York State, who 
claimed he could make his hens moult at any time of the year and 
therefore he could also, by controlling the moult, make his hens 
lay at any time of the year. His plan was to starve the hens 
and so stop their laying and when they had stopped for a week or 
two he fed them highly with fattening food. This he said made 
them moult and drop their feathers very quickly so that in a few 
days the hens would be almost nude and the new feathers would 
come in very rapidly. His theory was that when hens sit for three 
weeks on eggs and raise a brood of chickens they moult quickly 
because they grow thin during incubation, and when they have the 
rich feed which is given to the little chicks, it makes them shed 
their feathers and assists the moult. 

His theory sounded very plausible and I decided if he could do 
it I could also and tried. I discovered the New Yorker was only 
partly right in his deductions and that it does not pay to force 
Nature out of season. 

The following year I was much more successful for I only 
attempted to "assist" Nature and not to "force" her. I did not try 
to make the hens moult in June, but waited till nearer to the nat- 
ural time of the moult, that is, until August. I then put the hens 



102 MRS. RASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY ROOK 

on green food. I know that is hard to get at that time but I had 
lawn cHppings, vegetables and melons, or even alfalfa hay cut in 
the clover cutter and soaked for some hours in water, and I dis- 
pensed with all the grain and meat. I kept them on this green food 
for about three weeks until their avoirdupois was considerably 
lower and most of them had stopped laying for a week. 

Dipping Fowls 

]\Ieanwhile during their fast I saw^ that they w^ere entirely clean 
from lice, either by keeping them well dusted with insect powder 
or by giving them a good warm bath in warm soap suds, rinsing 
them in a two per cent solution of carbolic acid or water and creolin 
or the kerosene emulsion. I have tried all of these with good 
success. 

This washing seems to loosen the feathers and will clean the 
fowls of lice. If lice are left on the fowls at moulting time they eat 
little holes in the tender sprouting feathers and these little holes in 
the web of the feather wall certainly bring a "cut" from the judge 
in the show-room, and for the whole year will tell the tale of care- 
less handling by the owners. In washing or dipping fowls for lice 
there are two things to be remembered : First, do it on a bright, 
warm, sunny morning, so the fowls will have time to get thor- 
oughly dry before sundown, and, secondly, see that every feather 
is thoroughly soaked. If you skip a feather a louse will take refuge 
on it and commence to breed again as soon as the hen is dry. If 
there are any lice the disinfectant in the bath will kill them and 
the w arm suds also loosens the nits of the head lice. Those lice lay 
two silvery, white nits at the shaft of the feather and it is difficult 
to get them off. 

]\Iature hens which are fed sparingly for about two w'eeks and 
then receive a rich nitrogenous ration, moult more rapidly and with 
more uniformity and enter the cold weather of winter in better con- 
dition than the fowls fed continuously during the moulting period 
on an egg-producing ration. 

What to Feed 
It is largeh' a question of what not to feed as well as how little 
to give the birds you wish to moult early. There is one line of 
foods that you may feed in unlimited quantities, and that is the 
g^reen vegetable, the waste, small beets and thinnings of the garden 
rows can be supplied every day. My own plan in the days when 
I had small ungrassed yards, was to give full quantities of lawn 
clippings, putting them into the yards an hour before dark. This 
gave the birds time to fill up at night and yet the uneaten clippings 
would be still fresh in the early morning. If you have had no 
experience in the use of lawn grass you will be surprised to see 
how much a few hens will eat. If your hens have very large yards 
with fruit trees to supply some falling apples or pears, the birds 
will do very well without other food. \\'e are inclined to over feed 
our birds with grain in the warm weather and. unless the food is 
really much less than usual, you will fail in getting an early moult. 



THE MOULTING SEASON' 103 

This low feeding or starving process as it is called by many, 
is the important factor in the forced moult. Unless you really do 
this in good shape the birds will continue to lay and will shed their 
feathers in mid-autumn. 

Handle your birds on the roost to test their weight. They must 
be thin in body, yet good in color of comb and wattles. I find that 
birds take from fourteen to twenty-one days to get real thin. You 
will notice as you put this plan into practice that the egg yield will 
drop off until no eggs are being layed ; that the birds are on the run 
all the day long, coming to meet you at any point of the fence you 
may approach. The birds show that they miss some of their usual 
food. This thinning will do no harm to the birds ; in fact it adds 
to the health of the birds for months to come. 

The Full Ration 

When the birds have lost all superflous flesh, when the eggs 
have ceased to appear for a week, feed them good, full rations of 
growing foods. Now is when you add meat, beef scraps, green 
bone, cornmeal, and linseed meal. You can give them a morning 
meal of two parts cornmeal ; three parts bran, one part beef scrap. 
At noon feed a small handful of wheat or barley to every bird and 
at night a full feed of wheat or corn. Do not neglect to furnish full 
supplies of green food and vegetables all the fall. 

The change from the low feed to the full rations will be followed 
by the rapid dropping of feathers. The feathers will fall off all over 
the birds so that many of them will be almost naked. This result 
will be seen in most of the birds. A few will fail to respond, more 
if you do not follow the plan as outlined. 

Keep the full feed up until the birds get the new coat of feathers 
and begin to lay a few eggs. Then feed them as you do the fully 
mature pullets ; avoid feeding of heating foods (corn and corn pro- 
ducts) lest you start another moult in the late autumn. 

The forced moult is ONLY FOR MATURED FOWLS, or 
fowls that are over a year old. You must not starve the pullets. 
You must keep them growing. They will stand more heating food 
than hens. Let the pullets do most of your winter laying, but do 
not neglect anything that will induce the older birds to give you a 
good share in the profits of winter eggs. 

To sum up the whole matter in a few words, if you want to has- 
ten the moult, do not try the experiment with all your fowls, but 
take a few, separate them from the others and about the middle 
or end of August, commence to shorten their food. You can do this 
suddenly, giving them only green food and all the green feed they 
want. Secondly, keep this green feed up for two or three weeks, 
or at least one week after they have stopped laying. Thirdly, the 
green food should be clover, lawn-clippings, alfalfa hay cut in a 
clover cutter and soaked in water ; beet tops, cabbage, lettuce, etc. 
Fourthly, after the three weeks' fast, feed rich food, fattening food, 
sunflower seeds, kaffir corn, wheat, barley, oats and meat. Fifthly, 
when they begin to lay on this food, which they will do in about a 



104 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

month when they have completed their coat, gradually change the 
food, taking" away the corn and its products, and the linseed meal, 
and anything" that would be very fattening. 

Color of Feathers and Skin 

The feeding of the fattening foods adds heat to the body, fever 
our grandmothers called it, and this fever seems to loosen the 
feathers all at once — just what we want — and they fall so quickly 
that the hens are almost nude. Then is the time for care in feeding 
if you have exhibition stock, for I am certain color can be greatly 
controlled by food. 

Now, I know by my own experience that yellow corn will give 
yellow^ feathers (brassy feathers) to white fowls when freely fed ; 
that cottonseed meal will have the same effect, for that is what we 
add to the fattening food the last week to give the yellow tint to 
the skin. I know that iron in the drinking" water has the same effect 
with white fowls, ^\'ith colored fowls, such as Brown Leghorns 
or Partridge fowls or Buff's the iron and the corn will intensify and 
make more brilliant and bright their colors. 

The fowls that are making" their new coats, the coats that have 
to last the hens a year, all need i)lenty of green food and grain. The 
white fowls instead of yellow corn, should have oats, hulled oats 
are best, but if you cannot get hulled oats, soak the oats in scalding 
water so the hulls will be softened. Hulled oats may appear to be 
more expensive than the unhulled, but there is so much waste, so 
much indigestible fiber in the unhulled oats, that I decided that it 
was more profitable to feed the hulled oats. For those who are 
feeding cockerels which they want to exhibit in the winter ; for 
the white or black and white, give them shade, plenty of shade, 
for our California sun will draw out the yellow ; cut off all the 
yellow corn and all cottonseed meal ; feed oats, wheat, barley, grit, 
charcoal and have granulated bone always before them. For the 
colored fowls add linseed meal to the ration. It will deepen and 
hriHitcn the colors. 



VALUE OF ECONOMY 



The old saying "a penny saved is a penny earned" may well 
apply to the poultry business. To make money in the business, one 
must practice economy in every direction. 

Economy in Grain 

First: Economy in buying the food. This is very important. 
The available grains vary in different places in price ; in some 
localities, for instance, barley is cheaper than wheat, then utilize 
barley; that is to say if there is a decided difference in the cost, 
remembering that barley has a husk on it, which is indigestible 
fiber, and that fowls do not like it as well as wheat, although they 
eat it readily if rolled, or soaked or sprouted, and the analysis shows 
the same nutritive ratio as wheat. Again in some places, oats can 
be obtained very cheaply, and these are a most valuable grain for 
feeding and building up large, sturdy frames in the young fowls, 
promoting egg laying and inducing fertility in the eggs. I have 
great faith in oats — it is good for man, beast and bird, but the husk 
is the difficulty there. The oats should be scalded or clipped, or 
better still, hulled to make them thoroughly available. In Oregon 
and Washington, oats are less expensive than in the south, and 
therefore should be freely used there. By commencing the use 
of them early, the chicks will be vigorous and of large frame. 

Then again rice, rice hulls and rice bran are cheap in certain 
localities, such as in San Francisco and Seattle, where large cpianti- 
ties are imported and cleaned, and these can be had very cheaply 
and utilized either in the dry or wet mash. In other places where 
beans and peas are grown in cjuantities, the refuse of these, which 
is not worth marketing, can be used most advantageously. 

Broom corn seed is a most excellent food and costs very little. 
I had in Oklahoma many tons of this, to which the fowls had free 
access and with green growing winter wheat, a little milk and table 
scraps, they layed all through the moult and through the winter, 
notwithstanding the blizzards and zero weather. Nothing seemed 
to stop their laying, and I attributed it to the broom-corn seed. 
Sorghum seed is equally good. 

Another little economy I found quite good among the little 
chickens was buying dry or stale bread from the bakeries at 25c 
a sack weighing 25 pounds. This I took home, cut same in slices 
and dried in the sun or in the oven, ground in the grist mill and 
used either moistened or dry, for chickens, turkeys and ducks. 

Economy in Vegetables 

Then, again, there are the various vegetables, many of which can 
be had for almost nothing. There are "small potatoes." It gener- 
ally raises a smile to talk of these, but they make a most excellent 
addition and variety to the fowls' bill of fare. Small raw potatoes 
can be chopped up in the chopping bowl in a few minutes, also tur- 
nips, carrots and onions, and the outer leaves of cabbage, cauli- 



U)(> MRS UASl.KYS WESTERN FOULTRY BOOK 

iknvor or oolorv. 1 bought the hirgest chopping, or butter bowl, 1 
couki luul. and a double bladed chopping knife, and used it every 
dav, especially lor the little chickens and turkeys. Small potatoes, 
turnips and carrots can be boiled, mashed, mixed with bran and 
blood-meal, or with milk, and make a good variety in the diet. If 
you have other vegetables to spare, such as beets, cucumbers, 
pumpkins, etc., and tind the fowls do not at lirst like them, chop 
some up and mix bran with them and soon the hens will acquire 
a liking for them. 

Another economy is using the leaves which fall from alfulfa hay. 
W hen the hay-mow begins to get empty, sweep up the leaves and 
put them in a box or sack to mix in either the dry or wet mash. 1 
used to try to keep the last two bales of the alfalfa hay, as the balers 
would sweep up the leaves and put them in these last two and this 
was just what I wanted for my hens. Sometimes I soaked the 
leaves and fed them at noon, keeping ilie alfalfa tea to mix in the 
mash with potatoes and bran or whatever I was feeding. I ahvays 
said the alfalfa tea was as good as beef tea. There are many ways 
of economizing in the feed. 

Economy in Labor 
Another thing to economize is labor. I know many a farmer's 
busy wife will agree with me in this. I found the dry feed a great 
saving of time and strength. It was much less labor to carry around 
to my many pens of fowls, buckets full of dry food nicely mixed in 
the proper proportions and pour it into a box, or trough or hopper 
and let the hens eat it dry, instead of laboriously mixing it with 
water. Before trying the dry feed, I had so many hens that I had 
a large trough made, like a plasterer's trough, and I used to mix 
and uirn the mash with a spade or hoe and then till those large 
buckets full and put them on a child's express w agon to pull out to 
the pens. This was quite hard work and I hailed with joy the 
easier task of carrying the lighter buckets of dry food. I found, too, 
that it saved time to mix up the food by the sackful or binful ; then 
all that was required was to dip up a bucketful for each pen. I 
showed this plan to a friend of mine and later had a letter from her 
telling me it was a great comfort, for all she had to do was to send 
her lap boy out to that certain box or bin and tell him to feed that : 
she knew he could not make a mistake for it was ready mixed. 

Economy in Water 

Another economy : Have a w ater faucet in each pen. This may 
seem like an expense at tirst. but it will pay in the end. for fresh 
water is as important as good food, and if it requires but a turn of 
the faucet the hens are sure to be amply supplied. At one ranch 
where there was an abundance of water. I saw a small fountain 
which ran into a basin and that in turn overflowed into some cobble- 
stones and a drain, so that the hens had always fresh water with- 
out drawing on either the strength or time of their owner. 

1 would, however, caution chicken raisers against allowing the 



VALUIt OF ECONOMY 107 

water to run in a stream from pen to pen, as tliat may carry infec- 
tion, especially the infection of colds and roup. One j^entleman 
who had 3000 fowls told me that letting the water run in a small 
stream through his pens, had ruined him in the chicken business. 
One pen at the top of the hill got roup, and the infection was carried 
through to all of them. In Kansas one of the worst outbreaks of 
chicken cholera came from a creek. All the farms on that creek 
lost all, or nearly all their chickens, from drinking contaminated 
water. A faucet in every yard would be cheaper in the end than an 
outbreak of roup or cholera. 

Economy in Fencing 

Economy in fencing came in very handily one summer. I found 
I could make a very good temporary chicken-wire fence with posts 
50 feet apart by "darning" in a lath every eight feet or so, passing 
the lath in and out of the wire meshes before putting up the wire. 
This keeps the wire stretched and when taken down it can simply 
be rolled up and used over and over again, keeping the lath in it 
ready for the next time. I found chicken-wire and lath quite an 
economy. I made cat and hawk-proof little pens of this. fJought 
a bundle of six-foot lath, some two-foot chicken-wire and made 
most useful little panels six feet long with the laths, stretching the 
chicken wire on them and tacking it down with two-pointed tacks. 
I wired or tied the panels at the corners and had a larger panel go 
over the top made of six-foot wire. I did not have to kill any cats 
or have fusses with the neighbors. The little panels were untied 
and piled up for the winter time and put in the barn, coming out 
almost as good as new the next season. They were cheap, light, 
easily handled and very satisfactory. 

Beware of Spoiled Food 

It is poor economy to buy spoiled grain of any kind. The best is 
none too good, and anything that is spoiled is very apt to bring in 
disease. Wheat or any grain that has been moistened will develop 
fungoid growth ; smutty wheat, etc., is almost poisonous to fowls, 
while, of course, we know that there is no grain that so nearly 
approaches the analysis of an egg as does wheat, when it is good. 
Corn, likewise, if it has been dampened, will commence to ferment 
and that will disagree with fowls. At one time there was a fire at 
a flour mill in Los Angeles. A great deal of the spoiled wheat was 
sold for chicken feed. "Anything was good enough for chickens," 
was the cry, and hundreds of chickens lost their lives from that 
wheat. The owners of the fowls thought it was chemicals that had 
been used in suppressing the fire, but it was nothing but water, 
some of the firemen told me, that had been used for extinguishing 
the fire. The dampened wheat became musty and mouldy and it 
was that which killed the chickens. Again in using beef scraps, 
meat meal, blood meal or animal meal, be careful to buy the Ijest 
you can get, and keep it carefully away from any dampness. 
Dampened or spoilt animal food is poisonous to the chickens and 



108 MRS. BASLEVS WESTERN POULTRY ROOK 

many a fowl has died from ptomaine poisoning from using spoiled 
animal food. One of the greatest economies is to buy in large 
qtiantities. 

Most Suitable Green Foods 

W liilst \vc arc du the subject oi economy we must not forget the 
two green foods that are the most suitable for fowls — clover and 
alfalfa. 

Let those who are living on a town lot have a clover lawn; 
clover retjuires less water than blue-grass or any lawn grass in this 
climate, and is easily grown when once it is properly started. The 
lawn clippings are just the right length for green food and if neces- 
sary, the hens can be turned out on to the lawn two hours before 
sunset, and will then busy themselves nipping otT the clover leaves ; 
they will not have time or inclination to do damage by scratching. 
A run on the lawn before bedtime is a wonderful tonic for chickens 
that are yarded closely all the day. 

Every farm should have an alfalfa patch, if not a good big 
field of alfalfa, and no chicken ranch is complete without one, for 
the youngsters should have a good alfalfa run to properly develop 
them. 

Alfalfa is a legume : is rich in nitrogen and enriches the land 
upon which it is grown. It is the best green feed next to clover 
for the hens or cows, and the hens love it. It is equally good for 
ducks and turkeys. The question of economy of labor is a very 
serious matter in poultry raising, and by having a good alfalfa 
patch upon which the hens may be turned several hours daily, the 
labor of cutting and preparing green food for them is eliminated 
and will prove a great economy. 

Hens that have an abundance of alfalfa will lay eggs with very 
rich colored yolks and these eggs are usually fertile and produce 
healthy, vigorous offspring. An alfalfa range insures health, a good 
digestion and to growing chicks, a large frame. In buying a chicken 
ranch, one of the important questions is "will the land* grow 
alfalfa?" Is there sufficient water to raise a good crop of alfalfa? 

Alfalfa meal, or as it is sometimes called. Calfalfa. has been suc- 
cessfully used for hens. This is alfalfa hay ground up finely to 
form a meal. I have used tliis for several years and I find it some- 
times good and sometimes bad. The analysis of it made by the 
University of California shows the protein content to be very high, 
and the nutritive ratio to be 1 :3.3. This is the good meal. The 
poor meal contains too much fiber, and, as Prof. Rice of Cornell 
University remarked. "It was better for stuffing a bed than a hen." 
It all depends upon the quality of the alfalfa. Sometimes it is left 
until it is too old or is not properly cured, and is almost valueless ; 
at other times it may have been dampened and become musty. 
When this is the case, it will disagree with the fowls and give them 
diarrhoea. To test it pour boiling water upon it and if it smells 
sweet, like iiay, it is all right. If there is a musty, mildewy smell, 
discard it. 



PRESERVING EGGS 



Of twenty methods of preserving eggs tested in Germany, the 
three which proved the most effective were coating the eggs with 
vaseline, preserving them in lime water, and preserving them in 
water-glass. The conclusion 'was reached that the last was prefer- 
able, because varnishing the eggs wdth vaseline takes considerable 
time and treating them with the lime water may give them a dis- 
agreeable taste. These drawbacks are not to be found with eggs 
preserved in water-glass, which unquestionably is the best pre- 
servative yet discovered. The most difficult point probably in the 
use of water-glass for preserving eggs is its tendency to vary 
in quality. As a matter of fact there are two or three kinds of 
water-glass, and in addition to the fact that the buyer does not al- 
ways have a distinct idea as to what he wants, the loca^l druggist 
may not know all about it, or he may not know which kind is best 
for preservative purposes. The main use of these preparations for 
years has been the rendering of fabrics non-inflammable. This use 
in the Royal Theatre of Munich has rendered the place fire-proof 
by its use as a varnish in the fresco work, woodwork, scenery and 
curtains. It is also used for hardening stone and protecting it from 
the action of the weather. It was thus used many years ago, to ar- 
rest the decay of the stones in the British Houses of Parliament. 
The use of this medium for egg preservation is comparatively new, 
especially in this country, and it is not to be wondered at that 
dealers do not always supply just what is wanted. 

Different Names for Water Glass 

If we used the term soluble glass or "dissolved glass" in prefer- 
ence to either water-glass or silicate of soda, it might better de- 
scribe just what we want, although one of the other names might 
be preferable when ordering of the druggist. This term expresses 
exactly what the material is. When we. buy it by the pint or quart, 
we get dissolved glass. When we buy it dry, we get a soluble glass 
powder sometimes like powdered stone, sometimes white and 
'glassy as to its particles. The powdered forms are supposed to 
dissolve in boiling water, but they do not dissolve readily, and must 
often be kept boiling for some hours. 

Water-glass is made by melting together pure quartz and a caus- 
tic alkali, soda or potash, and sometimes a little charcoal. 

Several of our Experiment Stations have made some rather ex- 
haustive experiments with this dissolved glass in preserving eggs. 
The reports are, without exception, in favor of it. No other pre- 
servative is reported as being equal to this one. The stuff' is invari- 
ably described as a thick or jelly-like liquid, and the proportions 
recommended are one pint of the silicate of soda to nine pints of 
water, although the Rhode Island Station reports experiments in 
which as low as two per cent of water-glass was used with favor- 
able results. This is done to find out how little could be used, but 



110 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

this small proi)ortion was not recommended. Further trials may 
show that less than nine to one may be reliable. 

Directions for Use 

The directions for use are : Use pure water which has been 
thoroughly boiled and cooled. To each nine quarts of this water 
add one quart of water-glass. Pack the eggs in the jar and pour 
the solutions over them. The solution may be prepared, placed in 
the jar and fresh eggs added from time to time until the jar is filled, 
but care must be used to keep fully two inches of water-glass solu- 
tion to cover the eggs. Keep the eggs in a cool place and the jar 
covered to prevent evaporation. A cool cellar is a good place in 
which to keep the eggs. 

If the eggs be kept in a too warm place the silicate will be 
deposited and the eggs will not be properly protected. Do not wash 
the eggs before i)acking, for by so doing you will injure their keep- 
ing qualities. Probably by dissolving the mucilaginous coating on 
the outside of the shell. For packing use only perfectly fresh eggs, 
for eggs that have already become stale cannot be preserved by 
this or any other method, and one stale egg may spoil the whole 
batch. 

I can speak from my own experience, for I have packed eggs in 
it for five years and shall do so again. We are fond of fresh eggs 
and use a great many, and I find it most convenient to have a jar 
or crock full of nice eggs always on' hand. I have kept them my- 
self for eiglit months and have no doubt but that I could have pre- 
served them still longer had we not eaten them, for I found them 
to all appearances as fresh as if not over a week old. It costs about 
ly2 cents per dozen to preserve them. 

The Kind of Vessels for Packing 

Prof. Ladd, of the North Dakota Agricultural Station, spoke of 
receiving a few complaints that barrels were not proving satisfac- 
tory, the water-glass appearing to dissolve some product which de- 
posited on the eggs. He thinks this might be attributed to the 
presence of glue, which had been used as sizing for the barrels. In 
such instances, charring the barrel inside with thorough washing 
thereafter, is recommended. Altogether the preference seems to 
be for glass or stoneware vessels. 

Prof. Ladd's statement as to the satisfactory results of the water- 
glass method is very strong. He says : "This method has been 
tested in a commercial way, in nearly every state and part of our 
country, and we have not had to exceed eight adverse reports." 
One of the stations affirm that the failures reported are probably 
due to receiving water-glass of poor quality. 

It is also stated that these, like all preserved eggs, contain a 
little gas, and, when boiled, they will be likely to burst unless previ- 
ously pricked through the shell at the large end. 

As the entire processes of preservation are an effort to fence out 
germs, the recommendation not to wash off the mucilaginous coat- 
ing which nature puts on the eggs, and also to use only boiled 



PRESERVING EGGS 111 

water, appear very logical. When we know just what we are aim- 
ing at, we are less likely to omit the little precautions which other- 
wise might seem like the whims of some fussy person. Too many 
people skip the essentials when trying to follow a formula. 

I have kept the eggs in tin receptacles, five-gallon kerosene oil 
cans, and large lard pails. These kept the eggs perfectly, but after 
a time the water and silica of soda rusted them in spots and the red 
rust formed a sediment on the eggs. This did not injure them as 
far as I could see, except giving them a brownish tinge, and on 
asking the druggist, he said he did not see why the tin should not 
be used, as the silicate of soda comes from the East in tin cans. If 
tin is used, it is best not to paint the cans or oil them, as the soda 
has an affinity for oil and will eat through it and the oil or grease 
may impart a disagreeable flavor to the eggs. Remember the eggs 
must be absolutely fresh, for one bad egg may spoil the whole 
quantity in the receptable. 

Preserving in Lime 

The process of keeping them in lime-water is as follows : Slack 
four pounds of lime, then add four pounds of salt; add eight gal- 
lons of water. Stir and leave to settle. The next day stir again. 
After the mixture has settled the second time, draw ofif the clear 
liquid. Take two ounces each of baldng soda, cream of tartar, salt 
petre, and a little alum. Pulverize and mix; dissolve in two quarts 
of boiling water. Add this to the lime water. Put the eggs in a 
stone jar, small end down, one layer on top of another, and pour 
on the solution. Set the jar away in a cool place. This method is 
quite satisfactory, but not so good as the water-glass as the eggs 
are liable to taste of the lime. 




CAPONS 

"Does Caponizing Pay?'' We will consider the matter fully 
and from different points of view. 

In riiiladelphia and New York, in London and Paris, capons are 
considered a great delicacy, and as we, in California, become more 
metropolitan, capons will be more and more in demand. Eleven or 
twelve years ago when I had capons for sale I could not get more 
per pound for them than for the uncaponized fowls, as the An- 
gelenos had not been educated in taste to the excellency of capon 
meat. 

Capons are undoubtedly a more delicious dish at a year old than 
an uncaponized male bird of the same age. I had been led to sup- 
pose that a capon would be immensely heavier and larger than an 
uncaponized bird of the same age. This I found was not the case, 
the capons being rarely more than from half a povmd to a pound 
heavier, if at all. My chief reason for caponizing was the desire to 
train capons for foster mothers of chicks. I wanted mothers that 
would not commence to lay as my hens did when chickens were 
two, or at most, three weeks old and then desert them. In this I 
was thoroughly successful. The trained capon will mother chicks 
just as long as the chicks wall stay with him, and after a little rest 
will take another brood and mother it again, clucking to the chicks, 
feeding them, defending them, hovering them better than the hen. 

"Does caponizing pay?" Careful experiments have proved that 
the increase in weight is by no means so great as the public has 
been led to believe. It takes capons at least a month to sufficiently 
recover from the operation to catch up with their former mates in 
size and when they come to a marketable age they seldom weigh 
a pound more than the uncaponized birds of the same breed and 
age. The gain, however, in price is in their favor for it about 
doubles that of the other. This sounds like a strong argument on 
the side of the capon, but again the cost of production is an essen- 
tial factor in the study of the question. It will cost as much to pro- 
duce a ten-pound capon as to produce three or four young chicks 
of the same combined weight ; in fact with food at the present price 
I really think it will cost more. 

"Does caponizing pay?" I knew a lady about three years ago 
who sold four capons for sixteen dollars. She was so much en- 
couraged by this, for they averaged 38 cents a pound, that the fol- 
lowing season she drove around the country buying up little cock- 
erels and caponizing them. She was very successful in operat- 
ing, rarely losing any, but as she only stayed in the business one 
year. I think she did not consider it very remunerative. 

Easy to Leam 
The art of caponizing is simple and easy to learn. In France 
the farmers' wives and daughters have done the caponizing for cen- 
turies and practically without instruments except a sharp knife. 
In this country and age, we can Iniy a case of the best instruments. 



CAPONS 113 

with full instructions for use, at a low cost, and the Agricultural sta- 
tions of some states give free demonstration lessons to anyone 
within the state. The "Rhode Island College gives lessons in capon- 
izing in connection with its poultry course and also sends out, free, 
a book of instructions. By following these instructions and ex- 
perimenting for the first time on a dead chicken, any one that is deft 
can learn it. The operation is performed with apparently little pain 
to the subject and the minute the bird is released it will eat heartily 
and walk around as if nothing had occurred. 

In foreign countries the art of caponizing has been known and 
practiced for ages, yet it is not so common nor are capons so plenti- 
ful but that prices rule high and capons are considered the choicest 
of viands and above the reach of any except the rich. In this 
blessed country there is no reason why the producers of poultry 
should not feast upon capons, besides having the satisfaction of 
producing and marketing strictly high class poultry. 

Favorite Breeds for Capons 

In New England the favorite breeds for caponizing are the Light 
Brahmas and the Cochin and Brahma crosses. They are chosen on 
account of their large size and slow growth to maturity. The Ply- 
mouth Rocks follow, together with the Orpingtons and Wyan- 
dottes. The smaller breeds make, of course, much smaller capons, 
still they are popular in small families where large size is not re- 
quired. I have personally caponized only my White Plymouth 
Rocks. Nothing could be better than capons of this breed. /\t 
nine or ten months of age they are in their prime and the juiciness 
and flavor of their flesh is superb. 

Among the advantages of caponizing are, the birds may be kept 
together in large numbers, will not cjuarrel or fight, will not harass 
the hens and pullets, will not misuse the little chicks, bear crowd- 
ing and take on flesh more rapidly than cockerels. They make, 
when trained, most excellent mothers for little chickens, sheltering 
them under their long feathers and great wings. 

Best Time for Caponizing 

The best time for caponizing is in the early fall, for the reason 
that the heat of summer does not then retard recovery and also 
because the late (June hatched) cockerels are then of the best size. 

The best size is from two and a half to three pounds weight and 
this would be about the weight of June hatched chickens of the 
American breeds which if caponized in September will be well 
grown and in good shape for marketing in Alarch, the time of the 
highest prices. 

It is to the farmers, however, that the recommendation to capon- 
ize their cockerels for the family table should appeal most strongly 
for they are the class that would be most benefited by having good 
capons to ea<. It is a simple task to caponize forty or fifty birds 
and by that simple method a farm.er can provide his family with 
dinners which will be the envy of his less fortunate friends. 



114 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

The question, "Does caponizing pay?" may be answered, "Sonic- 
times it does and sometimes it does not." 

Capons as Brooders 

Capons make excellent mothers when trained to it. Some breeds 
would probably make more affectionate and attentive foster mothers 
than others. I can personally answer for the Cornish Indian Games 
and Plymouth Rocks. I have also seen beautiful Brown Le.s^horn 
capons that had raised several broods of chickens. Cockerels 
hatched in November, December and January, make excellent ca- 
pons for brooding". They should be caponized at about three months 
of age. Should be gently handled and never frightened, when they 
will become perfectly tame. The capon with its changed nature is 
even more timid than a hen or pullet, and for this reason should be 
separated from any of the older fowls and kindly treated. 

Capons should be trained at the age of about six months. They 
are easier to train at this age than at any other time, generally, but 
I have trained them at ten months of age. To train them, I keep 
the bird in solitary confinement for a few days, placing him in a 
cracker box ; place water, grit and sand in the box the same as 
though preparing for a hen and her brood. After tw^o or three soli- 
tary nights and days I put two little chicks under him at night ; they 
snuggle up under him, and he is quite glad to have the little fel- 
lows for company. The next morning he will look a little surprised 
perhaps, but usually takes them immediately, and soon begins to 
cluck to them like an old hen. The following evening I put as 
many as I intend him to care for under him, and before going to bed 
at night, see that all the little fellows are under his sheltering 
feathers. My object in using a cracker box is that it is about the 
proper height to make it uncomfortable for the capon to stand up- 
right and he will sit for comfort ; the little chicks get closer and make 
friends quicker, and have an opportunity to nestle under the capon 
as they would a hen. This training should be done in pleasant 
weather, because the chicks will not be hovered at first as well by 
the capon as the hen, and I use only a few chicks the first time, 
because a young capon with his first brood does not hover them 
like a trained one. 

The Whiskey Treatment 

Hen-hatched chicks take to a capon without any trouble, but 
chicks which have been several days in a brooder seem afraid of 
the capon, and instead of running to him to be hovered, huddle in a 
corner, so it is best to put them straight from the incubator under 
the capon. A writer on this subject says : "Should one of the 
capons pick the chicks I w'ould take him out of the box and swing 
him around in a verticle circle at arms' length until he was sick, 
then put him back again. If he attempts the same thing again, I 
take a small glass syringe and inject about one tablespoonful of 
good whiskey into his crop through his mouth, and after this treat- 
ment he is pretty sure to take to the chicks. He becomes so docile 



CAPONS lis 

that he allows the chicks to pick at his face and will not pick back 
at them. When you notice this, you can rest assured that he is (mi 
the right road." 

I have never tried the whiskey treatment, and have never had 
any difficulty in training a capon. Capons have proved far superior 
to hens in brooding chicks, in fact they excel all other methods, 
cither natural or artificial. The hen, especially "bred-to-lay" strain, 
deserts her brood at too early an age, and some hens, especially 
the pullets, with a first brood, are often very stupid at caring for 
them. I have known a pullet to hover her chicks in a thunder 
storm in a gully where the water rushed until they were nearly all 
drowned. Pullets do not seem to have sense enough to "come in 
out of the rain," while a good capon, when once he has been taught 
his way home, will bring the little ones to shelter without any 
trouble. The capon will defend his little brood most vigorously 
against cats, dogs or any animal. He seems to develop all the latent 
parental affection and lavishes it on his young charges as if his one 
and only object in life was to care for them. 

When Changing Broods 

When the chicks are old enough to take care of themselves, be- 
fore entrusting another brood to his care, he should have a rest of 
at least two weeks, especially if the next brood is to be of another 
color. During the two weeks' rest he will forget the color of the 
chicks he had and will not be so apt to object to the ,new ones. 
We all know that hens will sometimes object to chicks of a different 
color and will oftentimes kill them. When once trained, a capon is 
very little trouble and will care for brood after brood without any 
more training than I have mentioned. Capons can be kept over 
several seasons. I have heard of some being used for eight years, 
but mine were usually fattened and made a toothsome dish after 
two years' service. 

It is not difficult to learn how to caponize. The tools or instru- 
ments necessary are to be found at the poultry supply houses. The 
price for a set of instruments is from $2.50 to about $4.00, largely 
depending upon the case in which they are contained. The poultry 
supply houses have books of instruction for caponizing, and at 
some of them you can learn the names of persons who, for a small 
sum, will caponize for others. It would be a good plan for several 
neighbors to join together and have the person caponize 50 or 100 
in the same day. In this way, it would make the price lower. 

Capons are not much larger than cockerels of the same breed 
and age. The difference is in the table quality of the flesh. It is 
juicier and more tender, just as steer beef is superior to any other 
beef. 



TURKEYS AND HOW TO RAISE THEM 



rurkoys have hooii called the ■"lanners" frieiul."" ami there is no 
doubt that turkey raising" on a small scale is more profitable than 
any other branch of the poultry industry and that turkeys will 
bring" larger cash returns than any other stock upon tlie farm. 
They cost very little to raise, they eat the waste grain in the fields 
and barnyard, besides the seed of many harmful weeds. fhey 
consume an immense number of grasshoppers, grubs, worm^ aTid 
insects which would otherwise greatly injure the farmers' crops, 
and they are not difficult to raise if they are not overfed. 

One writer asks if chick feed is a proper and safe food fi~>r little 
turkeys, and another requests me to tell her exactl} ho^v I feed 
ami care for the little turkeys. 

Chick food is neither a safe nor a proper food for little turkeys, 
although it is a most excellent food for little chicks. In fact, you 
may be sure of success when you feed it to chickens and failure if 
\ ou feed it to turkeys. Later on I will try to explain this. 

Now, as to ni}' way of rearing turkeys. I am glad to give it, be- 
cause now I raise every turkey that is hatched, barring accidents, 
as some will drown in the cows' trough and occasionally one or two 
get stepped on, or the door blows on c^ne, or the puppy worries 
another. None die from disease. 

1 dc^ not pretend to say that mine is the only way. but 1 do say 
that not only do I succeed in raising turkeys, but those who have 
followed my directions were as successful as I have been, and 
those that met with failure did not follow my plans. I have been 
criticised as too fussy and particular about little details, but I think 
it pays to take good care of the little things for a few weeks, for 
turkeys arc delicate only when they are little, and if properly careil 
for then will be strong ami hardy when they mature. 

Grandmother's Recipe 

At my grandmother's the recipe for feeding little turkeys was as 
follows: "Leave them in the nest twenty-four hours or until the 
mother turkey brings them off; then give them only coarse sand, 
and water to drink. Meanwhile put some fresh eggs in cold water 
to boil; let them boil for half an hour; then chop them up, egg- 
shells and all. tjuite fine; add an equal amount of dry bread crumbs, 
and always, always, some green food chopped up finely. " 

Lettuce, dandelion or dock were the green footls at grandmoth- 
er's, and the explanation given me was that if they are fed without 
having green at every meal, they soon become constipated, then get 
sick and die. The secret of her success was the tender green iood 
and the grit, a pinch of coarse sand being sprinkled over the food 
of each meal. As the little turkeys grew, a little crackeil wheat and 
later whole wheat was added to their fooil. That was the only 
grain given. This was grandmother's recijie for raising turkeys. 



TURKEYS AND HOW TO RAISE THEM 117 

The way I feed and have fed for years is as follows : When the 
little turkeys are twenty-four hours old I put freshly-laid eggs into 
cold water an-d boil them for half an hour; chop them up fine, shell 
and all; add equal parts of bread crumbs; feed dry, taking away 
what they leave, feeding the mother separately. 

The next day i feed the same, adding very finely chopped lettuce 
or dandelion leaves or green young mustard leaves and tender 
young onion tops. This is their breakfast and supper. For dinner 
they have a little curd made from clabber milk, cottage cheese 
some call it. In a few days I add cracked or whole wheat to their 
supper, and if I am short of bread crumbs 1 add rolled breakfast 
oats to the egg and bread crumbs, i always chop up an onion a 
day with the egg, and bread crumbs unless the onion tops are 
very young and tender. Onions are an excellent tonic for the liver 
and kidneys, and prevent worms and cure colds ; so 1 use onions 
freely both for turkeys and chickens. In a few days I commence 
to add wheat to their food and at two weeks of age I gradually 
arrive at giving them wheat and rolled oats for breakfast; in the 
middle of the forenoon a head of lettuce to tear up and eat; at noon 
cottage cheese, and about four or five o'clock their supper of egg, 
bread crumbs or rolled oats, lettuce and always the chopped up 
onion. 

I give them clean water three times a day in a drinking fountain, 
or if I have not a fountain I make cxie out of a tomato can. Make 
a nail hole in the can about half an inch from the top, then fill the 
can up to the hole with water, invert a saucer over it, and holding 
the saucer tightly to it, turn it over quickly. This makes a good 
fountain, for the water will come slowly out of the nail hole into 
the saucer. I give the turkeys a similar fountain of skim milk, 
also. A word about the cottage cheese. I am very particular in 
making it not to allow the clabber milk to become hot. I use either 
a thermometer, letting the heat only come to 98 degrees, or I keep 
my finger in the milk, and as soon as it feels pleasantly warm I take 
the milk ofif the fire, pour the curd into a cheese cloth bag and leave 
it to drain. If the milk scalds or boils, the curd will be tough, hard 
like rubber and indigestible enough to kill turkeys or chickens. 

Overfed Little Ones 

When I lived in the home of the wild turkey, Oklahoma and 
Kansas, I learned much about the care of tame turkeys. There 
"corn is king," but I was cautioned never to give corn to the young 
turkeys until after they "sport the red." That is, until their heads 
and wattles become red, which happens at about three months of 
age. It was said that corn always sours on their stomachs. It 
was there I heard of a man who brought up his turkeys on nothing 
but onion tops, curd and grit, and they did well. 

One of my experiences in the land of the wild turkey may serve 
as a warning to others. I had a good old lUifif Cochin hen who 
was mothering a brood o.f nice little turkeys. She was most as- 
siduous in her care of them; she clucked to them all day; called 



118 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

them up to eat all the time, and it was surprising to see how those 
little fellows grew, when one after another they began to droop 
and die, till only one was left. The other turkeys under turkey 
mothers were doing well, so 1 took the lone little one one night 
and put him under a mother turkey out in the meadow and saved 
his life. The old hen had overfed the others. Chicken hens are 
too anxious to feed the little turkeys. They scratch for them, 
coax them to eat, and the little turkeys are such greedy, voracious 
little things that they overeat and in consequence die. I prefer 
to bring up little turkeys under a turkey hen or even in a brooder, 
rather than under a chicken hen. The best way of managing 
a hen is to keep her in a coop, letting the little turkeys run out- 
side or else tie the hen under a tree by her leg. I only feed the 
little poults three times a day just wdiat they will eat up clean in 
ten minutes. With a turkey hen I can leave wheat in a trough al- 
ways accessible, and she will never overfeed the young. The turkey 
mother will take a few mouthsful herself and then move slowly 
and deliberately away and her babies will follow her, having only 
taken one or two grains each. This is more like the nature of the 
wild turkey and the nearer to nature one can keep in raising tur- 
keys, the better will be our success. 

Nature's wild turkeys arc only hatched in the spring when there 
are grubs and worms in abundance, with plenty of green grass and 
tender leaves and no grain birt what is sprouting, and above all. 
Nature never mixes mashes to turn sour and ferment on the little 
stomachs. The hard-boiled egg and the curd take the place of the 
bugs and the grubs, for we cannot supply the turkey with anything 
like the amount of grasshoppers, grubs, worms, larvae of insects 
which Nature provides in the haunts of the wild turkeys. Another 
lesson we may learn from Nature's book : Wild turkeys are only 
to be found where there are springs and streams of pure water and 
they never wander away from the water. Give the young turkeys 
plenty of clean, pure water to drink. 

There are two chief causes of mortality in little turkeys — lice 
and over feeding. Before giving the little turkeys to the mother to 
care for, dust them well with "buhach," and continue to do this once 
a week until they are too large to handle. Look for lice on the 
head and on the quill feathers of the wing and rub the powder 
well into them. Lice and over-feeding kill thousands of little tur- 
keys. Over-feeding kills more than lice, and if it does not kill them, 
it stunts their growth, and unfortunately until they begin to die 
at about six weeks of age, one scarcely realizes that they have been 
over-fed. 

Little turkeys have voracious appetites, and if allowed to do 
so, will eat too much, and it only takes a few weeks for them to eat 
themselves into their graves. If they hunt for their food, as the 
wild turkeys do, they take it leisurely, just what they can easily 
digest, exercising between each mouthful and just enough is di- 
gested and goes into the circulation to keep them healthy. I never 
feed little turkeys all they want, only what they need, and I always 
keep them a little hungry. 



TURKEYS AND HOW TO RAISE THEM 119 

Keep Liver Healthy 

I can tell you just how over-fed turkeys will die. First they will 
walk slowly, lag£jing- behind the others as if tired, then their winj^s 
will droop and they will look sleepy and will not cat, will look at 
the food as if they wanted it, but were too lazy to pick it up, then 
diarrhoea will set in, the droppings will become yellow and some- 
times green, and death will soon follow. If you hold a postmortem 
examination, as you should do over everything that dies in the 
chicken yard, you will find the liver of these little turkeys has yel- 
low or white spots on it, and on cutting into it, you may find that 
these spots are small ulcers that extend through it. Sometimes 
these ulcers are quite ofifensive. This comes from over-feeding, 
which gives the liver more work than it can do and it breaks down. 

The liver is the largest organ in the turkey's body, and it seems 
to be the most delicate. If you can keep that healthy, you will have, 
healthy turkeys. Onion and dandelion leaves are tonics for the 
liver and the green food keeps it healthy, whilst the animal food 
and a small amount of cereal will make the frame of the turkey. 

Suppose you should see one little turkey in the brood begin- 
ning to walk slowly, what should you do? I will tell you what I 
would do. I would catch that little turkey and give a Carter's 
Little Liver Pill and follow this the next day with a little Epsom 
salts for the whole flock, and cut off some of the grain in the feed. 
You will probably save the flock, but they may be stunted in their 
growth, and their liver many months later may break down from 
being weakened by that first attack of liver trouble. 

Chick Feed for Turkeys 

Now about the chick feed. It is composed of a number of differ- 
ent grains. Some of these grains are extremely difficult of digestion 
for turkeys. The chief of these are cracked corn, Kaffir corn, Egyp- 
tian corn, sorghum seed, millet, etc. I could scarcely believe this 
until I had occular demonstration of it. Then I discovered that 
cracked corn did not commence to digest in the crop ; the gastric 
juice of the crop does not seem to have any influence on it. It 
passes through the crop and on through the proventriculus to the 
gizzard, arriving there hard and not in the least softened or digested, 
and there it commences to ferment, causing diarrhoea or else pass- 
ing away without digesting. I am not scientific enough to know 
the reason for this nor why wheat should be softened in the crop and 
jiartly digested before reaching the gizzard, but I know that it is 
so. They told me in Kansas that corn soured on the turkeys' 
stomachs, but it docs not exactly sour, it ferments — and there is 
where the trouble comes in. 

Sour milk is sour, but this is from lactic acid, and lactic acid 
seems beneficial to turkeys, whilst the souring of grains, bran, 
cereals of any kind, or cornmeal is a ferment, and ferments are 
very injurious to fowls of all kinds, and especially so to turkeys. 

Mrs. Charles Jones, the best authority on turkeys in the United 
States, agrees with me about feeding turkeys. She writes : 



120 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

"A diet of part corn agrees with chickens, but I have never yet 
fed corn in any form to young turkeys but that sooner or later they 
would give up the unequal contest. A little neighbor girl that had 
a great deal of the care of turkeys said the least little bit of corn 
meal makes them die. She had learned this by watching them as 
she fed them." 

1100 Gleaning Wheat 

It was my privilege to visit a turkey ranch in the San Joaquin 
Valley some time ago and what 1 saw there made me wonder that 
there are so few large turkey ranches in California. 

There were over 1100 beautiful turkeys gleaning the wheat over 
many acres of stubble. These great turkeys had been hatched near 
the barn in shed-like coops, under turkey hens. They were kept 
in the yard until about five or six weeks old, when they were driven 
out with their mothers upon the wheat stubble to rustle for their 
living, to pick up the wheat that would otherwise be lost. All these 
turkeys roosted in the open air and to this and the simple life, 
working for and finding their own living, may be attril:)uted their 
healthiness. 

There are many beautiful valleys in California where turkeys 
may be grown to great advantage by the hundreds and even thou- 
sands, but even on small ranches a few may be kept. 



MORE ABOUT TURKEYS 



There is no need for any sickness amongst turkeys whatever in 
California, if they are properly cared for, and I think eventually 
California will supply the Eastern States with their Thanksgiving 
and Christmas dinners, for they have there a disease among turkeys 
which is so serious that it is decimating, and, in some places, wiping 
out whole flocks of turkeys. The disease is called "Blackhead," as 
the head in some instances turns black or dark colored before or 
at the time of death. 

The Oregon Experiment Station has recently issued Bulletin 
No. 95, by E. F. Pernot, on Disease of Turkeys. This bulletin con- 
tains information of very great im]iortance to the turkey raisers of 
the state. It treats the subject of lUackhead, exi)laining the cause 
of this disease, the symptoms, and treatment. This bulletin, which 
may be obtained free on application to the Experiment Station, 
Corvallis, Oregon, should be in the hands of every turkey breeder 
in the state. 

In sections of the East, Blackhead has almost wi])ed out the 
turkeys, and the same thing is liable to happen in this state if 
proper measures are not taken to prevent it. 

I give here a brief summary of Prof. Pernot's bulletin : 



MORE ABOUT TURKEYS 121 

Symptoms — Diarrhoea is the most pronounced symptom. The 
discharges are frequent, thin, watery, and generally of a yellowish 
color. This, however, sometimes occurs from other intestinal dis- 
orders, and does not alone signify the presence of the malady. The 
next symptom is the drooping tail, followed by a drooping of 
the wangs, after which death soon ensues. When the disease is at 
its height, the head assumes a dark color, hence the name. Black- 
head. Young turkeys are much more susceptible or they may be 
more delicate, and cannot withstand the invasion of the parasites 
so well. They begin by moping and bunching up as though they 
were cold, diarrhoea soon sets in, the tails droop, then the wings 
droop, and they go about uttering a pitiful "peep," after which they 
soon die. A blackening of the head does not always occur. 

It is only by careful post mortem that the true cause of the dis- 
ease may be determined. 

The Cause — The disease is caused by animal parasites, wdiich 
can be detected only by the aid of a microscope. Because of their 
minuteness and growth in the mucous membranes of the digestive 
tract, they are easily carried by the excreta to food, which upon be- 
coming contaminated, transmits them to other fowls. This is the 
usual means of infection. 

Remedies — Food given to fowls should never come in contact 
with their droppings, as one bird with the disease will infect the 
feeding ground of others. Better sacrifice the bird at once than 
run the risk of spreading the infection to the whole flock. A sick 
bird should be removed from the flock and placed in close quarters, 
which may afterwards be disinfected, or the bird may be killed at 
once and then should be burned. Medical treatment is not very 
successful, owing to the difficulty of reaching the parasites at the 
seat of the disease ; yet treating them with some of the following 
remedies is well worth the trouble: Sulphur, 5 grains; sulphate of 
iron, 1 grain ; sulphate of quinine, 1 grain. Place this amount in 
capsules and administer one night and morning to each turkey for 
a week. If the bird does not respond to treatment, kill it at once 
without drawing blood, and then burn the carcass, disinfecting the 
coop. 

A solution of carbolic acid prepared by mixing five parts of the 
acid to 100 parts of water makes a good disinfecting solution, or 
chloride of lime, 5 ounces to 1 gallon of water, is good. Corrosive 
sublimate in the strength of 1 ounce to eight gallons of water, is a 
strong disinfectant, and may be used with a broom or spray to wet 
every part of the coop and floor, but it is poisonous and must be 
handled with great care. To disinfect the entire premises when the 
fowls are running at large is impracticable : but lime should be used 
freely on the droppings beneath where they roost. AVhen the dis- 
ease becomes seriously destructive, it is more than likely all the 
flock are affected, and it may be necessary to destroy all the re- 
maining birds and disinfect the premises as thoroughly as possible. 
In such cases it would be better to suspend the raising of turkeys 
for one year 



122 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

Liver Complaint 

rcrsotially I have only met once with a case in California which 
niii^lit he called Blackhead. I have seen many cases of common 
liver complaint, and hv my directions others have succeeded in 
curing many of these. 

Dr. Salmon tells us that the seat of the disease called Blackhead 
is in the caeca. The caeca is sometimes called the lilind bowel ; 
it is a sort of "appendix" in the turkey, having" no outlet. It is two 
lobes of bowel united by a ribbon of fat (the pancreas). In Black- 
head and also in some cases of liver complaint, an abscess forms in 
one or both caeca, but this can only be discovered after death, and 
1 ha\ e only found it in a post mortem of one turkey. The fact is, I 
have been so very "lucky" in raising turkeys that now I rarely 
even see a sick turkey, and I have many letters from our readers 
telling me they have cured their tvirkeys by my directions, so I will 
repeat them again for the benefit of new comers. 

First, liver complaint comes from wrong feeding, or over-feed- 
ing, which has overworked the liver ; secondly. Blackhead comes 
from a parasite ; thirdly, the symptoms of both diseases are almost 
exactly the same in the first stages. Dr. Cushman. in discussing 
this matter, decided that when the bright yellow diarrhoea comes 
on. showing liver trouble, the remedy is "something bitter and 
something sour." This is easy to remember. He also recommends 
no food but green food and says that turkeys have been known to 
cure themselves by living on acorns. 

My remedy is first a liver pill followed by quinine for a week, 
and sour milk and no food but onions and green alfalfa or grass, 
keeping this up until cured. 

I have a letter from a successful turkey raiser of Long Beach, 
near Los Angeles. She writes : "I wish to tell you my experience 
with liver sick turkeys. I had a gobbler weighing eighteen or 
twenty pounds, and I made the mistake so many do of allowing 
turkeys and chickens to run together; my experience is that tur- 
keys, especially toms, will not stand such quantities of food that 
hens do. Well, he got very sick, so bad he was as light as a feather, 
and my cure, which never fails — was administered — a bottle of Ja- 
maica ginger and a bottle of liquozone were procured. I put him in 
a clean, large coop and he lay on a bed of straw for days, so weak 
he could not stand. The first day I gave him one teaspoonful of the 
ginger and one teaspoonful of the liquozone mixed and diluted until 
it was not too strong, giving two or three spoons every hour of the 
diluted. The next day giving it three times a day : after that twice 
a day. I did not allow him anything to eat. but of an evening gave 
him the smallest sized capsule of quinine. Kept that up until he 
began to get good and hungry, then fed him a few grains of wheat, 
only about six grains, and a little speck of alfalfa. I have found that 
feed kills them every time when they are so sick. I never fail to 
cure the worst cases if I treat them like I tell you. Then if they 
hump up again and begin to get sick again. I give them a dose in 



MORE ABOUT TURKEYS 123 

the evening. The ginger warms them up and starts circulation, 
and the liquozone kills the germs." 

Liquozoneis very acid, it tastes like sulphuric acid and water, 
and I have no doubt that my friend's cure is a good one. Remem- 
ber, Dr. Cushman says "something bitter and something sour," 
and if your turkeys get sick, try it immediately. 




A Magnificent White Holland Tom 




Goodacre's Ducks at Home 
DUCKS AND THEIR VARIETIES 



In the sprins^time of the year in the East the big duck ranches 
hatch ducks by the hundreds of thousands, but in CaHlt)rnia, or 
at least in the neighl^orhood of Los Angeles, there are not such 
large ranches, and ducks do not seem as jiopular. Probably some 
farmers have had a few in their yard at some time, just to give 
them a trial, and have found them a continual nuisance, as they 
greedily eat the whole allowance of food from expectant chickens 
and dabble in their drinking vessels, so they have to be continually 
cleaned and re])lenished, and with great injustice to the ducks, they 
have let this ])rejudice them, where if they had kept the ducks 
separate, they would have found them easier to raise than chickens. 

Ducks grow faster and are ready for the market earlier than 
chickens ; they are not troubled by the diseases of hens, neither do 
they have lice, except if raised under a hen when very young, be- 
fore the feathers grow, the gray head-lice may get on their heads, 
crawl into their ears and kill them, but this is before they feather 
out. Mosquitoes which are very troublesome in some places to the 
chickens, causing great mortality, never trouble ducks, neither do 
fleas or ticks. I think the reason for their immunity from vermin 
is that their featliers are very oily and thick and the down under the 
feathers is an extra protection. Hens recpiire a dust bath, while 
ducks require a water bath to keep them clean and healthy. 

Most of the ]iopular varieties of ducks can be raised and bred 
witluuit water to swim in, but on the verv large duck ranches a 



DUCKS AND THETR VARIETIES 



125 



supply of running water so that tliey may have fresh water to drink 
and a bathing place for the breeding ducks is a great advantage. 

Ducks should be kept entirely away from chickens and turkeys, 
as they pollute water so badly it makes the other fowls sick. I 
found on my small ranch where there was only water piped in, 
after trying various plans for watering the ducks, an easy and con- 
venient way. I had a barrel sawed in two, two-thirds and one- 
third. I knocked the head out of the larger end and buried that 
part, making it deep enough so the top of the barrel was just below 
the ground ; any box with no bottom would do as well. The one- 
third of the barrel had a bunghole in the bottom. This one-third 
barrel I placed over the sunken one. 1 had a broom handle which 
fitted into the bunghole and every day 1 let the dirty water run 
through it into the bottomless barrel and it soaked away. In this 
manner I gave my ducks fresh water and a clean bath every day. 
I found if I sawed the barrel exactly in half, it made the top part 
deeper than I wanted, and the bottom not deep enough. 

The Varieties 

I have successfully bred the following most popular breeds of 
ducks and think a slight review of them may be interesting and 
helpful to beginners : The Aylesbury, Pekin, Indian Runner, Bufif 
Orpington Duck and the Muscovy. 

The Aylesbury 

llie Aylesbury, called after a town in Buckingham, England, are 
about a pound heavier than the Pekin. The standard weights be- 
ing, drake, 9 lbs.; duck, 8 lbs.; young drake, 8 lbs.; young duck, 7 
lbs. Their color is pure white, with pinkish-white beak and shanks. 
They are extremely popular in England and are hardy and vigorous. 
There are not many breeders of them in this country, but an Eng- 
lishmen, Mr. V. G. Huntley of Petaluma, who has imported some 
exceedingly fine Aylesbury ducks from England, says he has a 
large demand for them, as they are a rarity in this country. He 




Aylesbury Drake 



126 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



considers their flesh better than that of any other variety of ducks. 
In phimage the Aylesbury are a pure spotless white, with hard, 
close feathers that glisten in the sunlight like satin. The ad- 
vantages claimed for this breed are the easiness with which it is 
acclitnated, its early maturing, its great hardiness, its large size, 
being heavier than any except the Rouen, its great prolificacy and 
its beauty. 

The Pekin 
The Pekin is undoubtedly the most popular breed on the large 
duck ranches in the East, where thousands of them arc fattened and 
turned oft" every season. This breed is variously called the Imperial 
Pekin and the Mammoth Pekin and Rankin's Pekin. It was 
brought to this country from China in the early seventies and im- 
mediately took the first place as the most prolific and rapidly grow- 
ing" duck on the market. In shape and carriage the Pekin has a dis- 
tinct type of its own, which by some is described as resembling an 
Indian canoe, from the keel-like shape and the turned-up tail. 
Though Pekin ducks may not merit all that is claimed for them by 
enthusiastic breeders, it is certain that the duck business could 
not have attained its present proportion without the Pekin duck, 
and that as a market duck this breed takes the lead. They are 
hardy, quick growers, thrive in close confinement, and are ready 
to market at ten weeks of age. The plumage is soft, more downy 
than that of other varieties and is of a creamy white in color. The 
beak is of a deep orange yellow, and. according to Standard, should 
be free from black marks. The shanks and toes are reddish orange 
color. 





DUCKS AND THEIR VARIETIES 



127 



All ducks are of a timid disposition, and the Pekin more so than 
those of other breeds ; in fact, they will injure themselves so badly 
if frightened by cat, dog or a stranger, or by being caught up, that 
they may have to be killed. A fright, if not fatal, will take ofif 
several days' growth of the young, and stop the laying of the adult 
ducks. 

The Indian Runner 

Many years ago Indian Runners were brought from India to 
England by a sea captain, hence the name "Indian," while the "Run- 
ners" came from their great agility. They do not waddle like other 




Indian Runner Duck 



ducks, but run more like a plover, and are very quick in their move- 
ments. In England their good qualities quickly captivated the 
thrifty farmers. Individual ducks there have made a record of 225 
eggs per annum. Here in California I had ten ducks which laid 
2331 eggs in one year. I think the climate of California more nearly 
resembles that of their native land, and their laying is never checked 
by cold or snow, so that here they lay better than in England or 
the Eastern States. In India they were bred for their laying and 
table qualities, no attention being paid to the color of their plum- 
age ; all the Indians cared for was the eggs, and they layed eggs 
galore. English breeders claim that eight-year-old ducks of this 
breed will lay as well as yearlings, and on this account, and their' 
capacity for foraging, they have become very popular in England 
and Australia. 

While the weight of the matured Pekin is greater than that of 
the Indian Runner, there is more meat in proportion to their weight 



128 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

in the Runners on account of the smalhiess of the bones ; the meat 
is also of a much finer quaHty, finely grained and juicy and re- 
sembling in flavor the much extolled canvas-back duck. The eggs 
of the Indian Runner are an ivy white in color, greatly resembling 
Minorca eggs, very delicate in taste, and in England their eggs are 
in great demand in the tuberculosis sanitariums on account of their 
delicate flavor, richness and nutritive value, and absolute freedom 
from tuberculosis taint, and there is a higher price paid for them 
than the hen's eggs. 

The standard color of the Indian Runners in this country is fawn 
and white. In England they also have the black and white, the 
brown and white and the pure white. 

The Rouen 

The Rouen duck, so named for a city in Normandy, where they 
are supposed to have originated, are still bred there in large num- 
bers. The Rouen duck is a fine market bird, but does not mature 
as early as the Pekin or Aylesbury. It is easily fattened, hardy and 
quiet in disposition and not as nervous as the Pekin. 

The Rouen drake is a magnificent colored bird. Neck and head 
are irridescent green, breast wine color and the lower part of the 
body delicate steel gray, penciled with very fine black lines. About 
June a remarkable change takes place in the drake. He begins to 
lose his lustrous feathers, those of the neck dropping out, being re- 
placed by feathers of a russet brown. The magnificently colored 
drake is clothed in sober hues for the summer. In October he again 
resumes his gorgeous raiment. 

The Buff Orpington 

lUifl Orpington ducks are a breed of ]\lr. William Cook's mak- 
ing. He named them as he did the Orpington hens, after his own 
place in Kent, England. The color of the Ruff Orpingtons is a soft 
shade of bufi^, the drakes having rich brown heads. The lUifT Or- 
pington has a good deal of the Indian Runner blood in it, and from 
this source its laying qualities are gathered. Mr. Cook claims they 
are better layers than any other of the duck family. Many of them 
lay a beautiful green es!;s^, although a greenish-white is the usual 
color. These ducks weigh a pound and a half more than the Indian 
Runner, are large and more ])lum]) birds, maturing early, and one 
of the best market birds. 

The Muscovy 

The Muscovy Duck is not largely bred in this country. They 
arc not like any other ducks and do not interbreed with others. 
It is a native of South America, where it may still be found in its 
wild state. It comes in two varieties, white and black and white. 
The males are much larger than the females. I had one weighing 
fourteen pounds. Roth sexes have caruncles at the base of the beak; 
these become larger every year, giving them a vulture-like appear- 
ance. Muscovy ducks are rather awkward in the water, preferring 



DUCKS AND THEIR VARIETIES 129 

to live on the land. They are pugnacious and ill-tempered, and, 
although they have web-feet, they have very sharp claws that can, 
and do, scratch in a most unpleasant way. They are strong on the 
wing, flying easily over the barn, and they like to perch on the roof. 
They are good setters, and their eggs take thirty-five days to 
incubate. 

Hatching and Brooding 

The first thing the amateur needs is first-class breeding stock or 
eggs of the same. There is sure to be sad loss among young duck- 
lings, bred from debilitated stock. Good stock should be secured 
to start with, and when properly fed and cared for, there need be no 
fear of loss. 

A good incubator carefully operated without variation of tem- 
perature should receive the eggs. They take twenty-eight days to 
hatch. Duck eggs will hatch well in any of the standard incu- 
bators ; they require more airing than do the eggs of the hen, and I 
have found that by sprinkling them every other day, after the first 
week, I was sure of a good hatch. Sprinkle the eggs, or moisten 
them thoroughly, with warm water, when they are out of the ma- 
chine, and do not put the water in the incubator. I found this much 
the best plan. I think wetting the shell of the egg helps to soften 
it and make it more brittle, enabling the duck to break its way out 
easily. I also do this when hatching duck eggs under hens. 

A brooder adapted to chicks will answer equally well for ducks. 
The little fellows should be at least thirty-six hours old before 
taken from the incubator and placed in the brooder, which should 
be previously prepared for them by placing a board about ten inches 
wide a few inches from the front of the brooder forming a very 
small yard with a little water fountain so arranged that they can 
get their bills in but not their bodies. The birds should be con- 
fined to this small space in front of the brooder for the first day, 
or until they have learned the way into the hover. Bed the little 
fellows with hay, chaff or cut straw. Keep the pens clean both out- 
side and in. The welfare of the ducklings depend upon this. Be 
sure to give them shade. 



Mr. James Rankin has been called the father of the duck indus- 
try in America. He and a number of others in the East are now 
hatching by the thousands and tens of thousands. He writes : 
"With us it is the surest crop we can grow ; it makes the best 
returns of any crop on the farm." 

As he is a noted expert in the business I cannot do better than 
give his directions for raising the ducks and his formulas for feed- 
ing at the different ages. I have tried them myself and do not 
think they can be improved upon. 

Feeding 

The first food should consist of bread or cracker-crumbs slightly 
moistened and about 10 per cent of hard boiled eggs chopped fine, 
shell and all ; mix in this food five per cent of coarse sand. Do not 



130 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

place grit by them and expect thcin to eat it, but mix the sand in 
their food and so compel them to eat it as it is the most essential 
part of the whole thing. 

Scatter the food on a board, place the young ducklings on it and 
they will be busily eating it within ten minutes. One hundred to 
one hundred and fifty ducks can be put in one brooder six feet long. 
When two or three weeks old, not more than seventy-five should be 
kept in one brooder. The heat under the hover should be kept at 
about 90 degrees for the first day or two, when it should be grad- 
ually reduced as the ducks grow older. In the climate of Southern 
California, ducklings rarely require brooder heat more than two 
weeks. 

The second day rolled oats and bran can be added to the food ; 
a little finely cut clover, lettuce or cabbage can now be safely used. 
At ten days feed one-fourth corn meal, the rest wheat bran with a 
little rolled oats mixed in, not forgetting the grit, about ten per cent 
of ground beef scraps, and the same of green food. At six weeks 
Quaker oats, grit and ten per cent beef scraps ; at eight weeks old 
feed equal parts of bran and corn meal with a little Quaker oats, 
grit and beef scraps, but no green food. 

The birds should be ready for the market at ten weeks old. 
They should be fed four times a day until six weeks old, then three 
times is sufficient. They should be watered only when fed until 
six weeks old, then they should be watered between meals also. 
Feed at each meal all they will eat up clean, then take the remain- 
der away; keep the pens dry and clean and be sure you give them 
shade. 

For breeding birds, old and young, during the summer and fall, 
when they are not laying — feed three parts wheat bran, one part 
Quaker oat feed, one part corn meal, five per cent beef scraps 
ground fine, and five per cent grit, and all the green feed they will 
eat in the shape of corn fodder cut fine, clover, or oat fodder, or 
alfalfa. Feed this mixture twice a day, all they will eat. 

For laying birds — equal parts of wheat bran and corn meal, 
twenty per cent of Quaker oat feed, ten per cent of boiled turnips 
or potatoes, fifteen per cent of clover rowen, alfalfa, green rye or 
refuse cabbage chopped fine and five per cent of grit. Feed twice a 
day all they will eat, with a lunch of corn and oats at noon ; keep 
grit and crushed oyster shells before them all the time. 

Mr. Rankin adds: 'T wish to emphasize several points. Do not 
forget the grit, it is absolutely essential. Never feed more than a 
little bird will eat up clean. Keep them a little hungry. See that 
the pens and yards are sweet and clean, for though ducklings may 
stand more neglect than chicks, remember that they will not thrive 
in filth. If any one fails in the duck business, it must be through 
his own incompetency and neglect." 

Mr. Rankin has his yards swept twice a week. These sweep- 
ings amount to many tons each season, and are spread evenly over 
his grass farm, giving enormous crops of good hay, so that where, 
twenty years ago, only six tons of hay were cut, now the crop is 
125 tons. 



SOMETHING ABOUT GEESE 



Geese are, of all fowls, easiest to raise where grass is abundant, 
for they are grazing animals. Among the various breeds raised in 
this country the Toulouse is the most profitable goose to raise. It 
grows the largest, matures the quickest and is not so much of a 
rambler or flyer as the other varieties, and as it does not take so 
readily to water it grows more rapidly and accumulates flesh faster 
than other varieties, and is not so noisy. 

There seems to be a steady demand for the beautiful large, gray 
Toulouse variety. They deserve every word of praise given them. 
They have been known to live to a great old age. I have had a 
friend in England who had a goose that had been more than a 
hundred years in the same family, and even at that age produced 
as many fertile eggs as any in the flock. In fact, that goose 
had more broods each year than any other goose in the neighbor- 
hood. 

There are many points about raising geese that can be learned 
only by experience and a little practice is worth a world of theory. 
Intelligent and systematic breeding is sure to bring both pleasure 
and profit to the breeder. 

Hatching and Feeding 

For hatching goose eggs, if setting hens are used, keep them free 
from lice by dusting with insect powder every week, and put from 
four to six goose eggs under every hen. After eight days test-out, 
leaving four fertile eggs under every hen to hatch. Goose eggs 
should be sprinkled every fourth day after the twelfth, with warm 
water. In hot, dry weather, float them in water for one and a half 
to two and a half minutes. If incubators are used, float always. 
At the last float hold the pip up so as not to drown the gosling 
inside the egg. If the gosling remains and dries in the shell, it 
should be helped out. Break away a little of the shell, and if the 
lining does not bleed the gosling is ready to come out. Ring out 
a cloth in water as hot as you can bear your hands in, wrap the egg 
in the cloth and leave for a few minutes. You will find the gosling 
will come out bright and clean. Keep the goslings warm until they 
are dry and can run around. When they are twenty-four hours eld 
put them in a box, the bottom covered with sand, and feed them 
often with a crumbly mash of one-third corn meal, two-thirds bran 
and a pinch of sand. 

Goslings are Healthy 

No other young in the whole tribe of domestic poultry is so up- 
to-date and healthy as a young gosling. Given a tender grass plot 
and a bit of warmth, it goes merrily on its way, nipping a living 
and asking favors of no one. They eat daintily, preferring grass 
to all other foods. With their chatter they are ready to meet you, 
take a few mouthfuls of food, and, with the same old tune, they 
lazily saunter away in search of grass and more rest. 

Geese are turned out to pasture just the same as cattle, their 



132 MRS. r.ASLKVS WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 

bills iiciN-iiii^- scrraUMJ c(li;os wliich enable tliem to graze. They 
never need a warm iKnise. An open corrall is much better in Cali- 
fornia for them and the}' are not given to disease. Goslings, how- 
ever, should be provided with shade, as they suffer from heat, get- 
ting a species of blind-staggers or sunstroke if exposed to the sun. 
One of the best items of profit to be derived from a flock of Tou- 
louse geese is the feathers, which are clear gain, costing nothing but 
the trouble to pick them. Watch them in the fall and sj^ring, twice 
a year, when they begin to i)ull out the feathers and throw them 
away. 1 know then they are ready to ])ick. T think it is cruel to 
pick at any other time. Make cheesecloth sacks which will hold 
two pounds of feathers. Make them large, as the feathers will curl 
better if they are not packed together. Hang the sacks on a clothes- 
line every sunny day for about two weeks, then keep them in a well 
aired room. Women living in the city will be your best customers 
providing you let them know }ou have good feathers for sale. One 
can get from 7S cents to $1.00 per pound, and can never su]~)ply the 
demand. The breeders should ijot be picked when they are laying. 

The Varieties 

There are a number of varieties of geese, but the most profitable 
are the Toulouse, the Embden, and the China. Of the latter there 
are the two kinds, the brown and the white. The color of the Tou- 
louse is gray and white and the Embden is white. The Toulouse 
and the Embden are the larger. A pair of Toulouse have been 
known to weigh 59)/2 pounds, and an Embden pair has tipped the 
beam at S7 pounds. They are great layers of large eggs, of which 
they will lay thirty to forty a year, although I know a woman who 
has a goose that layed 70 eggs without wanting to sit. 

In mating, allow two geese to one gander, though they generally 
pair off and the gander will stay with his actual mate nearly all the 
time. The gander is the ])rotector of the goose, especially in breed- 
ing time. He will defend her and her nest fearlessly. 

Hens as Mothers 

It is a good plan to put goose eggs under a hen. It takes thirty- 
one days to hatch them. Then you want to be on the watch. The 
hen will sit all right, but when the young ones break the shell and 
the hen sees a (jueer, green little creature, with a long, wide bill 
saluting her, she takes it for a freak of nature, and off comes its 
head. Not many hens will claim the young geese or hover them ; 
so take the goslings away as the}' hatch and try the hens, giving 
the goslings to a good slow, gentle hen. .\s soon as she takes them 
without any fuss there is no danger. If the weather is nice they 
should be turned out in a small enclosure, which can lie changed 
every day or .so. ITse boards six feet long and twelve inches wide. 
After a week let them go, and their foster mother's trouble begins. 
'I'he little goslings do not care for her calling; they are hustling 
for every spear of grass and she has to hunt them. Her business 
is to keep them warm at night and warm them in the daytime 



SOMETHING ABOUT GEESE 



133 



if they get chilled. Never allow goslings to get to water to swim 
until they are fully feathered, and then only let those go that you 
wish to keep for breeders. Many of them will do as well if they 
never go swimming. During this period you must keep the old 
geese away, as they will fight the hen and molest the young. 

You cannot raise geese as you do chickens and ducks, on a city 
lot. They must have pasture. It is a wrong belief that geese or 
their droppings will kill grass or pasture. If you have a large flock 
of geese and a small pasture they will clean it up ; that is, they 
will eat the grass as fast as it sprouts and give it no chance to 
grow, just as a cow on a city lot will soon have only bare ground 
and you will have to tie her in the road. If you do the same with 
geese you would find the grass growing" again the same as before. 
Geese are easier to raise than any other young fowls. 




Cat and Hawk-proof Coop for Chicks and Ducklings 



BASLEY FORMULAS (Tested) 

BASLEY CHICK FEED 

Cracked Wheat 30 lbs. 

Steel Cut Oats 30 lbs. 

Finely Cracked Corn 15 lbs. 

Millet 10 lbs. 

Rice 10 lbs. 

Pearl Barley 10 lbs. 

Rape Seed 10 lbs. 

Granulated Milk 10 lbs. 

Granulated Dried Bone 10 lbs. 

Chick Grit 10 lbs. 

Granulated Charcoal 15 lbs. 

Total 150 lbs. 

BASLEY DRY FOOD FOR LAYING HENS 
By measure: 

Bran 2 parts 

Alfalfa Meal 1 part 

Corn meal 1 part 

Rolled Oats or Oatmeal 1 part 

Beef Scrap 1 part 

A little pepper and salt. 

BASLEY "EGG COAXER" 

Dried Blood ■ 10 lbs. 

Beef Meal 10 lbs. 

Bone Meal 10 lbs. 

Linseed Meal 5 lbs. 

Sulphur 2 lbs. 

Powdered Charcoal 2 lbs. 

Cayenne Pepper ^ lb. 

Salt ^ lb. 

Dose half a pint once a day for twcnt}- hens when they arc moulting 
or to encourage egg laying. This is an infallible egg producer. To be 
given in the mash either dry or wet. 

DOUGLAS MIXTURE 

Tonic and disinfectant: Sulphate of iron (common coperas), eight 
ounces; sulphuric acid, one-half ounce. Put into a bottle or jug one gallon 
of water; into this put the sulphate of iron. As soon as the iron is dis- 
solved, add the acid. When the mi.xture is clear, it is ready for use. 
Dose: one teaspoonful in one pint of drinking water. This is one of the 
best tonics for poultry known. It is an antiseptic as well as a tonic, and is a 
good remedy for many diseases. 

BASLEY LINIMENT FOR RHEUMATISM 

One cup of vinegar; one cup of turpentine; as mucli saltpetre as it will 
take up, about a heaping tablespoonful. Keep in a bottle, shake before us- 
ing. Bathe the aflfected part twice a day. Excellent for bruises, sprains, 
etc.; also in the human family or animals of any kind. 



PART II. 



Questions 

and 
Answers 



CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 



Apoplexy — What is the trouble 
with my hens? They seem healthy 
and all at once they begin to gasp and 
fall over dead. I cut one open and 
it was in tine condition, fat and nice. 
I cannot make out what it is. — Mrs 
C. S. 

Answer — Your hen had apoplexy 
from being over-fat. The over-fat 
condition weakens the muscles, and 
the heart and brain give way. Give 
the whole flock a little Epsom salts 
in the water for a week, cut down 
the amount of grain, especially any 
corn or corn meal in their feed, and 
feed more green food and more ani- 
mal food with, of course, charcoal 
and grit. 



Air Putf — I have been a constant 
reader of your articles and find them 
very good 'but I have a case I never 
remember reading about; it is a 
Barred Rock about 6 or 7 weeks old. 
A few days ago it went to limping 
and I supposed it was some of the 
others crowding but I have since no- 
ticed its whole right side was pufifed 
awaj^ out, just the skin, and I took 
a needle and made a small opening 
and there was nothing but wind in it. 
I repeated the same operation next 
day. It eats and drinks and aside 
from the limping, seems to feel all 
right. They have a nice clean run 
and lots of green stuff. I am feeding 
cracked corn; wheat and Kaffir corn. 
Could you suggest a remedy and tell 
me what the disease is? — Mrs. J.N.H. 

Answer — Your chick had what is 
called "Air Puflf," and you did just 
right in puncturing the skin; you 
saved its life by it. The trouble 
comes from a wound or abrasion of 
the lung tissue resulting from vio- 
lence of some kind. After caponizing 
a chick this trouble often develops. 
I have seen the poor little things al- 
most as round as a ball and so light 
from the air under the skin that the 
sliglitest breeze rolled them along. 
Chicks that get trampled on by their 
mothers, or cockerels that fight are 
liable to suffer from injuries that re- 
sult in "air pufi." They become in- 
flated with air. The treatment is a 
good nourishing diet. I resort to 
bread and milk in such cases. It is 



easily digested, and, puncture the skin 
to let the air out. In slight cases 
where there is only a little air under 
the skin it will disappear gradually 
without treatment, but if there is a 
considerable amount of air it is neces- 
sary to prick the skin and let it out. 



Bumble-foot — I have a lame hen; 
she limps on her left foot. She eats 
as well as my other hens, her comb is 
red and looks as healthy as the 
others. 

If you will tell me what is the trou- 
ble I will be very much obliged to 
you.— Mrs. M. M. C. 

Answer — Your hen has probably 
what is called "bumble-foot." It is 
something like a stone bruise or a 
corn in human beings. It usually 
comes from a corn or bruises of the 
feet, wounds with thorns, broken 
glass, hard stones or other sharp sub- 
stances. The ball of the foot be- 
comes swollen, inflamed, hot and 
painful. The fowl appears in pain. 
Corns are often caused by too small 
or narrow perches, which compel the 
fowl to grasp them tightly in order 
to maintain their position. This firm 
grasp continued night after night 
aflfects the circulation of the part of 
the foot that comes in closest con- 
tact with the perch. A similar con- 
dition may be caused by heavy birds 
flying from their perches and alight- 
ing upon a stony surface or hard 
floor. 

If it has not yet become an abscess, 
simply cut off the thickened skin or 
corn without causing bleeding and 
paint the corn with tincture of iodyne. 
If pus has developed, soak the foot in 
warm water twice a day and poultice 
until the inflammation is reduced. 
After thoroughly cleaning the foot, if 
pus has developed, open the abscess 
freely with a sharp knife and scrape 
out the diseased matter. Wash out 
the wound carefully with peroxide of 
liydrogen or carbolized water. Stuff 
the wound full of iodyne gauze and 
bandage it. Continue this treatment 
daily until the wound is almost 
healed, then apply a good ointment 
daily until it is entirely well. The 
bird must be kept on clean, dry straw 
until fully recovered. 



138 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



Swollen Feet — Will you extend a 
helping hand to an old batch who is 
having endless trouble with a few 
chickens? They begin to get lame 
and after a few days cannot stand 
on their feet at all, and some of them 
have great swellings on top of their 
feet that look like a big boil. I only 
have about forty in all; they liave all 
the range they want in abundance and 
wlieat twice a day, together with 
scraps from tlie table. My hen house 
is log, 12x16 feet, plastered on both 
sides, two windows with glass 12x24. 
The roosts are about eighteen inches 
from the floor. If you can tell me 
the cause and cure I will thank you 
kindly as I feel sorely tempted some- 
times to kill all of them and start 
over. They are just common hens. — • 
D. W. M. 

Answer — Your hens have either 
bumble-foot or rlieumatism. The 
bumble-foot comes from an injury to 
the foot and is caused by hens jump- 
ing or flying down from a high place 
onto stony ground. It is also caused 
by rocky ground and is somewhat 
like a stone bruise or a corn in the 
human family. It usually occurs in 
licavy, elderly hens and your plan of 
killing them off for the table would 
be a good one. The cure is to lance 
the "boil" and gently squeeze the core 
out, then wash with peroxide of hyd- 
rogen and bind up with a soft rag 
and keep the hen on clean, soft straw, 
not allowing her any place to roost. 
Bumble-foot sometimes comes from 
sliarp edges on the perch or very nar- 
row perches. Discover what is hurt- 
ing the feet and remove the cause. It 
is sometimes necessary to poultice the 
feet to draw out all the pus. Rheum- 
atism usually comes from damp 
houses or damp ground and to cure 
that you have to change those condi- 
tions. You can also give the fowls a 
little Epsom salts in their drinking 
water, or give each affected hen one 
dose of Epsom salts (half a tcaspoon- 
ful) in a little water and put into the 
drinking water half a teaspoonful of 
bicarbonate of soda to a quart of 
water. But I think your plan of de- 
capitating them and starting with 
fresh young hens would be better 
than trying to cure them. 



squawks and slings her head and when 
I hold my ear to her side I can hear 
a continual rattling. Her comb is red 
and she eats well. I feed corn, wheat, 
Kaffir corn and table scraps. They 
run on plenty of green range. Her 
nostrils are clean. Age, 8 months. — 
C. C. S. 

Answer — Your hen seems to have 
chronic bronchitis or is taking cold 
frequently. See that she does not 
sleep in a draught nor in a house that 
is too tightly closed. Give her a tea- 
spoonful of honey night and morning 
for a week and keep her clean from 
lice, and I think she will be well in a 
week. A little red pepper and chopped 
onions in her food would also help 
the cure. 

Bald Headed — Some of my hens 
are becoming bald headed. The feath- 
ers for half an inch and more back of 
the comb disappear. The hens seem 
in the best of health and lay well. 
There are no lice or mites on the 
chickens, on the roosts or in the nests. 
If you can give me a remedy I shall 
consider it a great favor. — Mrs. E. 
E. C. 

Answer — This is not af all an un- 
common occurrence just before the 
moult. Those feathers have merely 
ripened a little earlier than the oth- 
ers, and, strange to say, it is usuall}' 
the best layers that are so affected. 
You can grease the bald spot with a 
little vaseline. This will hasten the 
growth of the new feathers. 



Bronchitis — Will you kindly tell me 
what ails my White Leghorn hen? 
She sits around most of the time and 



Blind Chicks — ^What is the matter 
with my little chickens? They are 
about two months old. I find them 
with one eye shut and sometimes 
both, and when I open it a watery 
substance comes from them. When 
only one eye is affected, they are per- 
fectly blind in it, but can see all right 
out of the other and when, both ej^es 
are affected, they are blind in both. 

Their mouths are perfectly clear 
and they have a rattle in their throat. 
Thej^ have been affected now for 
about two weeks and several have 
died. It seems very contagious. 

I have put spirits of camphor in 
their drinking water and sulphate of 
iron. I also made a salve of lard and 
Egyptian insect powder and rubbed 
that on their eyes with a feather, 
which was very highly recommended 
to me, but everything has failed to 



CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 



139 



cure them. They run on a yard of 
green grass all the time. — Mrs. A. 
L. S. 

Answer — The starting point of near- 
ly all cases of blindness in chicks is in 
roupy breeding stock. A slight chill 
or cold is sufficient to start an epi- 
demic of this blindness in a flock of 
chicks, if they already possess the in- 
herited tendency to weakness of these 
parts from parents that were not in fit 
breeding condition. This blindness is 
a result of an inflammation of the mu- 
cous membrane of the eye and lids, 
which produces a sticky exudate, 
which gums the eyelids together. 

Sometimes the inflammation of the 
lids is excited by irritating substances 
like lime or sharp, dusty sand, insect 
powders or kerosene getting into the 
eyes. These causes may produce 
blindness in chicks that do not have 
roupy ancestors. That form of in- 
flammation of the lids accompanied 
by hardening of the lids is not uncom- 
monly caused by irritants, kerosene 
particularly. 

Uncleanliness is another cause of 
blindness of this sort, and too many 
who attempt to raise chicks are care- 
less in this respect. Lice and mites 
also do their share to cause the trou- 
ble. 

The best way to remedy such cases 
is to prevent them or remove the 
cause if possible. In cases where 
there is an amount of exudate it will 
be well to bathe the eyes with a solu- 
tion of boracic acid, fifteen grains to 
a half cup of water, and then dry with 
a soft cloth and apply a little carbolic 
salve. It is difficult to get satisfac- 
tory results dosing young chickens 
with medicine, but you might give 
them either a little bread and milk 
with a sprinkling of red pepper and 
sulphur on it, or rice boiled in milk 
with a tablespoonful of ground cinna- 
mon for each pint of milk. 



Cancer — The writer wished to know 
if poultry are subject to cancer. — J. H. 

Answer — Poultry are not subject to 
cancer, but they are to tuberculosis, 
which may be taken for the same. 
There is no cure for this but the 
hatchet. A thorough disinfecting of 
the premises must be made. The 
bodies of any fowl dying from this 
disease should be burned, or buried 
very deeplj-, as it is an infectious dis- 
ease. 



Canker — I am anxious to know if 
the heavy Black Orpingtons are 
hardy. I have just bought a fine 
cockerel and four hens; one of them 
has just got canker. What is the 
cause and remedy? They are kept in 
a yard by themselves and get clean 
drinking water and sleep in a fresh 
air house with open side facing east. 
Do 3'ou favor open front houses for 
fancy breeds? I feed them with mash 
in the morning and wheat in the af- 
ternoon, and alfalfa grows in their 
yard. — Mrs. M. N. 

Answer — The Black Orpingtons are 
very hardy. Am sorry your pen has 
canker. The cure for that is to paint 
the spots with sulpho-carbolate of 
zinc (four grains in an ounce of dis- 
tilled water) night and morning. This 
will kill the germ, but in case it is 
diphtheritic roup, would advise you 
to paint it one day with the sulpho- 
carbolate of zinc and the next day 
with peroxide of hydrogen, as the lat- 
ter kills the diphtheritic germ. The 
open front houses are the best for 
every kind of fowl in this climate. A 
change of diet will often afifect the 
droppings of the fowls, when they are 
normal. You had better slightly 
change the foods, or if you feed them 
charcoal, it will materially assist the 
digestion, and you need fear no trou- 
ble. A little Epsom salts in the wa- 
ter, if the fowls are very fat and 
heavy, is also an assistant, but by 
giving them plenty of green food, you 
will have no trouble. 



Cannibalism — I had a hatching of 
Black Minorcas three weeks ago of 
115 chicks; today I have about 80. In 
the first place, the chicks are hearty 
and well, but will bite the rectum of 
the other chicks and in two or three 
minutes will just tear the bowels out 
and kill the little chicks. Every one 
will give it a nip, and if we are not 
constantly on the alert all would be 
dead. No one of whom I have in- 
quired has ever heard of such a thing. 
I have raised these just as I raise my 
White Leghorns. I hatched 160 seven 
weeks ago, and today have 158 fine 
chicks. You would oblige me very 
much with a remedy. — W. P. H. 

Answer — The remedy for "canni- 
balism" is first, to keep all the chicks 
busy with exercising; in order to do 
this, keep the floor of the brooder 



140 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



covered with chaff or finely cut alfalfa 
hay at least an inch deep and feed 
the chicks small grains (chick feed) in 
this; the hay or chaff keeps the toes 
and feet covered, conceals them, and 
the busy little things are so occupied 
scratching that they do not get into 
mischief. Secondly, give them a little 
more animal food or milk. The can- 
nibals have a craving for animal food, 
and sometimes a bit of fat salt pork, 
whether fed to them or nailed up 
where they can peck at it, satisfies 
this craving. Thirdly, find the first 
leader of this mischief, and either kill 
him or isolate him and give him to a 
hen to bring up. This bad habit is 
usually started by one chick, and all 
the others follow suit, and soon the 
whole brooder will acquire the habit, 
and it is almost impossible to stop it 
if it has got a good start. 

Chicken Pox — I am in trouble con- 
cerning my chickens. My young Leg- 
horn pullets have black looking sores 
around their eyes and on the comb. 
They look like ticks at a distance, and 
sometimes scale off. I am using sul- 
phur, lard and a few drops of carbolic 
acid. What is the trouble? Can it be 
chicken pox? 

Is my remedy of any value; if not, 
can you suggest one? Also, what is 
the cause? 

Some of them also have the gapes, 
and I have been unable so far to ef- 
fect a cure. Have killed several al- 
ready. What is good for the gapes 
and can you tell me what causes 
them? 

Can a water glass solution be used 
the second time for preserving eggs? 
-J. B. 

Answer — Chicken pox is your trou- 
ble. See reply to H. E. S. 

Give the chicks with gapes garlic, 
easiest cure. 

Some advise putting down the win- 
pipe a feather dipped in coal oil to 
dissolve the worm, but many chicks 
are killed in this way, and I prefer 
dusting over the chicks a little slaked 
lime, which will make them cough up 
the worm. However, I really con- 
sider the garlic the best and crushed 
or chopped fine and mixed with a lit- 
tle bran, and when they get better, 
give frequently chopped onions. 

Chicken Pox 
Warts on Combs and Eyes — I am 
in trouble and I know you can advise 



me. September 24th I hatched some 
Blue Andalusians. They have grown 
very fast, seemed extra healthy and 
vigorous until a few days ago, when 
warts began to appear on their combs 
and eyes. In one night they grew 
twice in size. I have nine, and they 
are all becoming affected. What in 
the world is it, and is it catching? 
They have run at large entirely and 
their feed in grain is mostly kaffir 
corn. They were such fine chicks, 
and I was raising them for breeders, 
but now feel discouraged. I have a 
younger litter, four weeks old, but 
they are all right so far. My old 
birds are fine stock and very healthy. 
These warts did not make their ap- 
pearance until the chicks were eight 
weeks old.— Mrs. H. E. S. 

Answer — Your chickens have chick- 
en pox in a very virulent form. 
Chicken pox is from a germ and it is 
very infectious. It is fatal to young 
chicks. In severe cases it goes into 
the throat and mouth, as you de- 
scribe. The best home remedies that 
I know are first to grease the "warts" 
that are on the outside of the mouth 
or under the wings with a little car- 
bolic salve. Then wash the mouth 
and throat with vinegar and salt (a 
level teaspoonful in a cup of vinegar), 
following this the next day with 
swabbing with peroxide of hj^drogen. 
Give germazone in the drinking wa- 
ter. Feed nourishing and easily di- 
gestible food, such as bread and milk. 

The most important part is to dis- 
infect the brooders and houses and 
yards, so as to get rid of the germs. 
Move the chicks that are well to 
fresh, clean brooders on the other 
side of the ranch, and then scald the 
old brooders thoroughly, giving tliem 
a last rinse with water in which cor- 
rosive sublimate (bi-chloride of mer- 
cury) has been dissolved. Of course, 
the mercury is poisonous, so the 
chicks must not be put into the 
brooders until it has dried off, and 
care must be used in handling it not 
to let any of it get into your own 
eyes. The runs and houses should be 
disinfected by whitewashing or spray- 
ing thoroughly with a solution of 5 
per cent carbolic acid. 

The feeding vessels and troughs 
should daily be scalded with Tjoiling 
water until the epidemic ceases. The 
affected birds should be isolated. 



CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 



141 



When Chicks Choke — As we are be- 
ginners and having some trouble with 
our chicks, we vash to ask you for 
advice, which will be greatly appre- 
ciated. 

The chicks are five weeks old and 
up to a few days ago all were well, 
when we discovered a sick chick. It 
seemed to be choking and would 
twist its head and peep. We feed 
nothing but the best chick feed and 
always keep fresh water before them 
and keep them in a fireless brooder, 
twenty in each. Kindly advise me 
what the trouble is and how to cure it. 
Thanking you very kindly for any 
favors you may extend to us, we beg 
to remain, yours very truly, W. F. H. 

Answer — When a chick "twists its 
head and peeps," it is a sign that it 
has "colic." It has eaten something 
that disagrees with it. It may have 
swallowed a burr of some kind or it 
might have eaten a bit of something 
that was mouldy. A small dose of 
castor oil with a few drops of turpen- 
tine in it would have relieved it. 



discharge from the nostrils has no 
bad odor, would consider they are fit 
for food. 



Cold in the Head— Can you tell me 
what is the matter with my chickens? 
They eat, seem to feel good, sing and 
play and are laying good, but they 
seem to have a cold or something. 
They try to blow their nose and bub- 
bles come out. Have been that way 
for about six weeks; they have a good 
coop with no air holes; six by eight; 
one end open; only twenty-five to 
roost in it. They have had blue- 
stone in their drinking water every 
day for a month; they do not get any 
worse or seem to be any better; they 
have warm mash for morning feed 
and wheat noon and night. Would 
they be good to eat in that condition? 
— F. C. H. 

Answer — I am afraid that your 
chickens are too crowded in their 
roosting quarters and that they get 
too warm at night and come out into 
the cool morning air and in this way 
take cold. Or the open end may be 
towards the night breeze. They evi- 
dently have, for some cause, slight 
colds. Bluestonc, or germazone in 
the water is an excellent cure and by 
adding chopped onions and a little 
red pepper to the mash, should cure 
them. One teaspoonful of red pepper 
for every twelve hens is the dose. If 
tjhe chickens are not feverish and the 



Cough and Sneeze— Will you please 
tell me what is tlie matter with my 
birds? I have several that cough or 
sneeze, I do not know which. They 
will shake their heads and "holler." 
One can hear them quite a distance. 
Will you please tell me the disease 
and remedy? — B. J., Tucson, Ariz. 

Answer — Your fowls have bron- 
chitis and perhaps some influenza. 
Give them bread and milk for supper, 
and a quinine pill and half a teaspoon- 
ful of red pepper mixed with butter. 
And see that they do not sleep in a 
draught or in a house where the rain 
comes in on them. 



Comb Discolored — I have a White 
Leghorn cock two years old; he has 
always been healthy, but for the last 
two months I noticed that his comb 
and wattles turned a deep purple and 
would remain so for days, then they 
would change to a natural color 
again, but only for a day or so, and 
then turn purple again. He seems 
to be healthy and vigorous in every 
way. Now, can you tell me what can 
be the matter with him and what I 
can do for him, or if it would be wise 
to use him any further for breeding 
purposes? — Mrs. L. S. 

Answer — The comb tells quite a 
little story of what is going on in the 
organs of the whole body. Any 
change in the appearance of the comb 
is indicative of a disturbance in some 
other part of the bird. 

The dark colored comb is an indica- 
tion of a disordered liver and indiges- 
tion. The dark comb is one of the 
first symptoms noticed in congestion 
of the liver and most cases of this 
come from an overfeeding of a ration 
too rich in starch elements, such as 
too much potatoes or bread in the 
table scraps, and insufficient exercise. 
I do not know how you are feeding 
your fowls, but I would recommend 
you to put a little Epsom salts into 
the drinking water, or you can give 
him alone a small half teaspoonful 
in a tablespoonful of water, and put 
in the drinking water of the whole 
flock ten drops of tincture of nux 
vomica to a pint of water. Feed plen- 
ty of green food and more meat thaA 



142 



MRS. BASLEVS WESTERN POULFRY BOOK 



you arc now jiiving-; keep this up for 
a week and then turn the birds out on 
a grass range if possible, otherwise 
give the birds as scratching material 
the waste from an alfalfa hay mow 
and allow them only a little grain, 
wheat, and make them scratch liard 
for that. It would not be advisable 
to use the- male bird for breeding. 
Breed only from the most vigorous 
stock vou have. 



Why Combs Are White — We have 
two Buff Orpington hens that are 
sick. They mope around and do not 
eat. Their heads and gills are almost 
white, and sometimes one is almost 
l)lue. They look as though they have 
lice, but they have not. Can you give 
me some advice as to how to treat 
them? Thanking you in advance, I 
am, respectfully, A. G. O. 

Answer — The comb tells quite a lit- 
tle story as to what is going on in the 
organs of the whole body. The nor- 
mal condition of the comb presents a 
liealthy look that the poultrymen call 
the "standard red." Any deviation 
from this red is an indication of 
changed action in the workings of the 
organ, or to a change in the vitality 
of the whole bird. The light colored 
comb shows an anemic state of the 
bird and is a sign of underfeeding, 
lice, poor ventilation, and absence of 
green vegetable food, impure water 
and uncleanly surroundings. 

As you say, nothing of the feeding 
and treatment of tlic birds, I am un- 
able to say wliich of these conditions 
I'lts your case. I think probably they 
are infested with lice or their houses 
with mites, and the only remedy is the 
extermination of these. 



Cough — We have a disease in our 
poultry. They have a phlegm in their 
tiiroats and cough; they seem all right 
to look at them; they eat and drink 
until the day before they die, when 
tlic}^ begin to droop. I notice it only 
when I let them out in the morning, 
or by disturbing them at night. They 
are fed about twelve pounds of wheat 
a day, two sheaves of barley, a pan of 
soaked bread, occasionally a feed of 
boiled potatoes mixed with bran and 
a little cayenne pepper. I have been 
giving them carbolic acid in their 
drinking water, about seven drops to 
a milk pan full; they usually drink it 
before being let out of the feed shed. 



We have lost only two birds, a pea- 
cock and a young turkey, but tliey all 
seem to have it. I will be much ob- 
liged if }'OU can tell me what the dis- 
ease is and how to treat it. — M. G. 

Answer — Your chickens have a 
slight cold, more like broncliitis than 
roup. I would advise you to put some 
germazone into the water given them 
for drinking and some cliopped onions 
in their food, and considerable red 
jjeppcr. There is a possibility that 
their coughing comes from dust of 
some kind in their sleeping coop, or 
from barley beards in the straw. You 
had better not give them any more 
carbolic acid in the water. It is very 
injurious to turkeys. It is always best 
to try dieting and simple remedies. 
A teaspoonful of honey once or twice 
a day will often cure phlegm in the 
throat. 



(H. M. C., Inglewood, Cal.)— You 
say you have a fine White Leghorn 
cockerel whose breathing is labored, 
that you can hear him breathe when 
on the roost. Also you have a Buff 
Orpington hen that coughs, but other- 
wise both of these are apparently 
well, and you want me to diagnose 
the case and give you some remedy. 
It is difficult to diagnose any case of 
sickness among birds without seeing 
them or understanding their environ- 
ment. I think that it may be a slight 
touch of bronchitis in both cases, and 
I would treat for that. First, how- 
ever, try to discover what has caused 
this trouble. Bronchitis is caused by 
anything that gives a cold, overcrowd- 
ing at night, sleeping in a draught, 
etc., but it also is caused by dust, 
especially lime dust from scattering 
slacked lime in the henneries; that is 
one reason I do not like air slacked 
lime. The lime seems to affect not 
only the bronchial tubes and lungs, 
but also enters the air sacks. 

The irritation of the bronchial tubes 
is sometimes the remains of an attack 
of roup. I have found a little honey 
one of the best remedies. I would 
advise you to mix one teaspoonful of 
eucalyptus oil or teaspoonful of tur- 
pentine (I prefer the eucalyptus) in 
one cupful of strained honey; mix 
thoroughly and give the bird one tea- 
spoonful night and morning. At the 
same time give a nourishing diet. I 
would like to recommend a very httle 



CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 



143 



(about ten grains) of sulphur in the 
morning meal, .but at this season of 
the year I am afraid, as sulphur opens 
the pores, that the fowls might take 
extra colds. Will you let me know 
if you give eucalyptus oil and the re- 
sults, as it may help another. 



Congestion of the Lungs — Knowing 
that you are a very busy woman, it is 
as a last resort in our trouble that I 
make this appeal to you. We are on 
forty acres of new land since April, 
never having been occupied except as 
stock or grain land before. The land 
is light adobe soil, being porous in 
summer, not cracking as some adobe 
does. For grit I furnish coarse sand 
and decomposed granite, which seems 
very sharp grit; have fed cracked 
wheat, chick feed, raw chopped meat 
sparingly, chopped vegetables and 
plenty of clean water. Have had three 
hatches; the first at three weeks old 
the brooder took fire in the night and 
burnt everything up; total loss. The 
second about 70 per cent hatched, and 
I brooded them in boxes 18 by 24 in. 
filled with straw, nest and hover, and 
no artificial heat, and had none sick; 
all vigorous Plymouth Rocks, until 
two months old, when suddenly I no- 
ticed one at a time get droopy; could 
find no lice, but white-washed and 
coal-oiled pens, brooders, etc.; dug up 
the ground. 

I saw two or three head lice, as I 
supposed — large, long insects — -just on 
two or three birds, so I greased every- 
thing with lard and sulphur, on head 
and under wings, but the sick ones 
died just the same. On some of the 
sick ones I could find no lice of any 
description, so I opened some and 
could see nothing apparently wrong, 
except in the lungs, which seemed to 
be full of blood, and when they died 
they would sit for a day or two very 
weak and breathe hard. They got very 
thin. They have invariably died, and 
I have now lost about eighty. I 
opened one today. It seems to have 
white or cream-colored lumps through 
the lungs. 

I have about a hundred and ten 
healthy chicks three weeks old in 
brooders, and am afraid for them. We 
have had no experience of this kind 
before, and anything so unusual and 
so menacing to our only business has 
prompted me to write to you. I have 
a roll of clippings of your pieces, but 



find nothing to cover the case. Now, 
if possible, will you please tell what 
the trouble is? It may save my fu- 
ture flock and my profits. Yours in 
hope, H. L. F. 

Answer — From your description of 
the trouble in your brooders I fear 
that it may be possibly tuberculosis, 
still there is a great doubt in my mind 
because you are on a new place and 
have, as I understand, new boxes or 
home-made brooders, and therefore I 
think the trouble is that the chicks 
have not sufficient room in the boxes 
at night and are breathing vitiated 
air. This will weaken — in fact, will 
poison — the chicks, and they will "go 
light" or die of consumption just from 
not having sufficient oxygen or proper 
ventilation in their sleeping quarters. 

At four weeks of age there should 
not be more than two dozen chickens 
in a box 18 by 24 inches, and the 
brooders should be sunned every day, 
and one side of the box brooder 
should be open so the chicks will have 
plenty of fresh air. Another thing 
has certainly injured the chicks, and 
that is greasing them. It always will 
make the chickens sick, especially if 
greased under the wings; a little, very 
little lard on the top of the head and 
under the chin does not seem to hurt, 
but if it is used at all freely on the 
body and especially under the wings, 
it will often kill them. 

Instead of coal-oiling the brooders, 
if you had washed them with boiling 
hot suds it would have been much 
better. The fumes from the oil is in- 
jurious and is utterly useless for kill- 
ing body lice. Boiling suds is harm- 
less for the chicks and will destroy 
mites, lice, fleas and many infectious 
germs in the brooders and costs a 
good deal less than oil or any of the 
liquid lice killers. After carefully 
studying your letter, I feel sure that 
the trouble commenced with over 
crowding and lack of ventilation in 
the brooder. Then the greasing fin- 
ished it, and when the chickens began 
to be sick, others caught it, for it is 
a strange thing, but sure, that one 
sick chick will infect its neighbors no 
matter what disease it has. Also, 
when a chick for any reason is weakly 
it will take any disease that is in the 
air. 

Now for those that are left, keep 
their sleeping coops clean and well 
sunned and keep the chicks entirely 



144 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



away from those that are sick or even 
weakly. Keep them all free from 
lice, dusting them occasionally with a 
good lice powder or with tobacco 
dust. If any have head lice, take 
some nice warm suds, put a very few 
drops of carbolic acid into the suds, 
and with a tooth brush wet the 
chick's head with it; this will kill the 
louse and will loosen and brush away 
the two silver}' white nits which the 
liead louse lays at the roots of the 
feathers. 

If you are following my rules fcr 
feeding, giving plenty of clean water 
and green food, and supplying sliade 
as well as sunshine, your fowls are 
sure to do well. Being on a fresh 
place, where there have never been 
any fowls, is a very great advantage 
to you, and I feel sure you will event- 
ually succeed. Let me hear again 
from you if I can help you. 



Catarrh — Can you please tell me 
what the trouble is when chickens 
cough and their nose runs, also state 
tlie best way to rid them of this 
plague?— Mrs. S. A. B. 

Answer — Your chickens have taken 
cold and may probably have lice. Try 
to discover what is giving them their 
severe colds. It is probably some 
draught. Put a piece of bluestone in 
their drinking water (the size of a 
bean in a quart of water) and give 
them a pill of the following: Mix two 
tablespoons of lard, one each of mus- 
tard, red pepper, vinegar; mix thor- 
oughly, add sufficient flour and make a 
stiff dough. Give a bolus of this as 
big as the first joint of your little 
finger every night. 



Crop-Bound — ^I have about 100 Leg- 
horns; been very healthy all winter; 
laying good. Now about six weeks 
ago I lost eleven of the heaviest ones 
in six days. They had yellow drop- 
pings; lived only two days and died. 
Four others died after having a heavy 
crop hanging down; they were ap- 
parently healthy and laying eggs reg- 
ularly; I cut the crops off three of 
them and found nothing but long 
strings of hay. Please oblige me by 
telling me the cause and what reme- 
dies.— A. F. H. 

Answer — Your hens are suffering 
from what is called crop-bound. They 
cat long pieces of hay, which form 



into a ball in the crop and cannot pass 
through them. After a time this fer- 
ments and decays and poisons the 
chickens, or brings on inflammation of 
the crop. When long pieces of grass 
or hay cause this trouble, as in your 
case, almost the only remedy is to cut 
open the crop of the bird and wash it 
out. Have someone hold the bird so 
you can have both hands free to work. 
IMuck enough feathers from the 
breast to give bare skin half an inch 
wide by two inches long. Then with 
a sharp knife cut through the skin, 
lengthwise of the bird, an opening 
one inch long over the place of tlie 
swollen crop. Cut only the skin, leav- 
ing the crop untouched until the blood 
of the first incision has ceased to 
flow. Then cut through the crop a 
little over a half inch long. Half an 
inch may seem short, but you will be 
surprised to see how large the open- 
ing is after you have worked throngli 
it for a while. In removing sub- 
stances from the crop, be careful to 
let as little as possible slip between 
the skin and crop; with a button-hook 
or anything else handy, remove the 
contents. If filled with grass or hay, 
it is sometimes necessary to cut the 
mass with scissors before any start 
can be made. When the crop is ap- 
parently empty, push your little fin- 
ger into it, feeling to know whether 
there is any obstruction at the outlet. 
If you find the opening clear, the last 
thing is to sew up the cut. With 
needle and white silk thread, take two 
single stitches in the cut in the crop, 
then in the same way take three 
stitches in the skin, tying off the silk 
at each stitch. Be careful not to in- 
clude the crop in the knot tied. After 
the operation feed soft food, omit- 
tinc;- grain for a week. 



Sick Chicks — I want your advice. 
My little eliicks seem to be pert and 
healthy when they are first hatched 
and all right until they are two weeks 
old, and then they get all pasted up 
in the back; don't eat, just drink and 
are sleepy looking, droopy and die. I 
have lost over a dozen that way and 
have a lot more now that are in the 
same condition. They have no lice 
or mites, for I have examined them, 
and I don't see how they take cold. 
I liave barrels for them to roost in, 
with a screen in front to protect them 
from cats or rats, so there is no 



CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 



145 



draught through the barrel and T 
don't feed them anything but chick 
feed. I put copperas in their water 
this morning to see if that would 
check it. I am sorry to lose all my 
chicks after I have taken such good 
care of them. Please let me know as 
soon as possible what I can do for 
them and oblige. Yours truly. — Mrs. 
C. C. B. 

Answer — Your little chicks have 
taken cold, probably from sleeping in 
a barrel. When little chicks have 
bowel trouble, it is almost always 
from taking cold. In mature hens a 
cold affects the head, throat, bron- 
chial tubes or lungs, whilst with lit- 
tle chicks it affects first the bowels. 

A fireless brooder miglit have 
saved all your chicks. A barrel is 
very cold, unless it is well banked 
up on the outside and the nest inside 
very carefully made. A flat box is 
much better. Copperas will not help 
them; the best thing for them is rice 
boiled in milk with a tablespoonful 
of ground cinnamon to each pint of 
the milk added after cooking. Cinna- 
mon is a good disinfectant and heal- 
ing and warming to the bowels. Cop- 
peras is cold and chilling and is apt 
to give indigestion to small chicks. 



fasting followed by a dose of castor 
oil in an hour. Be careful to clean 
up and destroy the droppings or the 
other chickens will eat then and the 
trouble will increase. 



Pullets Dying — We have a flock of 
incubator chicks that are not doing 
very well. The little pullets started 
to die when but seven weeks old and 
we lose one or two every day. They 
have the whole farm to run on. At 
first they hang their wings and act 
sleepy, then their heads turn blue and 
they die. We cannot find lice nor 
fleas on them. They are fed wheat, 
oatmeal, and some onions and milk. 
Have plenty of water, grit and char- 
coal. Thanking you in advance, sin- 
cerely yours. — Mrs. T. L. 

Answer — I think your chickens have 
worms; the wings drooping and their 
acting sleepy are two of the most 
prominent symptoms with worms. 
Cut open the next one that dies and 
examine it. The best cure that I have 
found for worms is ten drops of tur- 
pentine in a teaspoonful of castor oil. 
This is for the common round worms. 
For tape worms, which are not so 
common, the dose is ten drops of tinc- 
ture of male fern on a piece of bread 
or a lump of sugar in the morning 



Diphtheric Roup — Having derived 
many useful ideas from your writings, 
I take the liberty to ask your advice 
regarding a disease which has come 
upon my chickens. The first symp- 
toms seem to be a sneezing or 
squawking sound as if the chicken liad 
a beard in its throat; then a wliite 
membrane forms over the windpipe 
and the eyes close up and lumi)s 
break out around the comb. The 
lumps finally break and the eyes ;.nd 
nose run. Both Barred Roclcs and 
White Leghorns are afflicted. The 
Barred seem to suffer the most. — Mrs. 
R. F. 

Answer — I am sorry to say your 
fowls have diphtheric roup. It is a 
very infectious disease and if ynn have 
children you had better keep Ihem 
away from the fowls. Spray tlie 
mouth, throat, nostrils and cleft in the 
mouth twice a day with peroxide of 
hydrogen. Give the fowls a quinine 
pill, four nights in succession, and 
once a day a bolus of the following 
mixture: Two spoons of lard, one 
each of mustard, cayenne pepper and 
vinegar; mix thoroughly, add flour 
enough to make stiff dough; give a 
bolus as large as the first joint of 
your little finger once every twenty- 
four hours. Put a piece in a quart 
of water, and allow them no other 
drinking water for a week. 



Fatty Degeneration of Liver — I 

have noticcfl a hen moping and eat- 
ing but little for two or three weeks, 
but as I had broken some up from 
sitting, thought it the result from 
broodiness. However, as she got no 
better I separated her from the oth- 
ers, but yesterday she died. This 
morning I did as you advised, and 
duly performed the autopsy. I saw 
at once on making an incision what 
was the matter. Her liver was so en- 
larged that it occupied almost the 
whole cavity. I never saw one such 
a size. It was covered in blotches 
of pink spots, small as a pin point. 
There was fat around the heart and 
gizzard and layers of fat around the 
intestines; perhaps a fifth of an inch 



140 



MRS. BASLi:VS WESTERN TOULTRY ROOK 



thick. 'riKTO was plenty of grit in 
the gizzard hut no food. The heart 
soomcd in good condition, the hody 
a good color, and flesh firm. In the 
cavities of the back is a substance, of 
which I do not know the name, that 
seems to be enlarging and hardened. 
There were many eggs but very small 
and undeveloped. Is this the kind of 
liver which is used as a delicacy and 
l>roduced by over-feeding? My fowls 
were fed corn all winter and were 
nuich too fat this Spring. In March 
they had layers of fat an inch in 
thickness. T did not suppose that 
a laying hen ought to have any fat 
inside of her. How should that be? 
— G. S. H. 

Answer — Your hens certainly had 
fatty degeneration of the liver, or the 
disease which the over-fat geese have 
when their liver is considered a deli- 
cacy. She simply had been fed an un- 
balanced ration containing too much 
of the fat element, and being a Ply- 
mouth Rock, had become over-fat. 
The substance in the cavities of the 
back is the kidneys. There are three 
lobes of these on each side. Your 
fattening ration had also affected 
them. So much fat will also affect 
the egg laying, will make small eggs 
and chickens will be weakly, as there 
will be preponderance of fat in the 
eggs from which they are hatched. 
A laying hen should not be anything 
like as fat as those vou describe. 



Feather Pulling — ^Vill you kindly 
tell me the cause of chickens pull- 
ing feathers from each other and 
eating them? We feed them wheat, 
cracked corn, etc., also ground bone. 
— G. H. T. 

Answer — Various causes have been 
assigned for this habit, the most 
probable being improper rations and 
idleness. In some instances it is 
caused by mites or lice. As in some 
cases, the habit is due to insufficient 
animal matter in the rations, or to 
feeding too long on a single kind 
of grain, particularly corn, one of the 
first measures adopted should be a 
well balanced ration, containing 
skim milk, meat bone, vegetables or 
green feed and frequently varied. 
The Geneva. New York, experiment 
station applied to the feathers lard 
or vaseline in which powdered aloes 
had been mixed. After continuing 



this treatment for some time the 
habit disappeared, due to the dis- 
agreeable taste of the aloes. The 
skin and feathers should be carefully 
examined for lice and mites and if 
these are found the remedies recom- 
mended for such parasite should be 
applied. 



Green Droppings — I have a White 
R(->ck pullet eight months old. She 
is dumpy, docs not care to eat, her 
droppings are grass green and cream 
color and very loose. I feed alfalfa, 
cabbage, lettuce, beef-scraps, blood- 
meal, bone meal, wheat, kaffir corn, 
cracked corn and they have plenty of 
sand. Sometimes I put salts, soda 
and bluestone in their drinking water, 
and sulphur and red pepper in their 
mash. — Mrs D. A. S. 

Answer — I think you are giving 
your pullet too much medicine, and 
have upset her digestion. Put her by 
herself, give her rice boiled in milk 
with a little cinnamon added and 
sharp grit and charcoal. Sand is not 
coarse enough for hens. Also give 
her green crisp lettuce. Green food 
does not give hens looseness of the 
bowels but keeps them in good 
health. 



Heart Trouble — I have a very fine 
rooster two years old. For the past 
two months he has been troubled by 
some difficulty in breathing. At times 
his comb and wattles become purple 
for two or three minutes, then the 
color gets red again. I have looked 
for canker but cannot find anything 
that seems wrong. Have used vase- 
line but it has not done any good. 
It seems to me more like asthma or 
bronchitis. Wish I could cure him 
for he is a valuable bird. — Mrs. I. G. 

Answer — I am sorry to say that 
your bird has heart-trouble. This has 
been brought on by some great excite- 
ment, such as fighting, fright or being 
chased. It may possibly be fat on 
the heart, which weakens that useful 
organ. You might try giving him in 
the drinking water nux vomica and 
sulphur conip. 2x twelve tablets to 
each pint of drinking water. Be 
careful to give him plenty of green 
food and grit, besides his ordinary 
food. Cases of this kind are almost 
incurable, but the treatment I have 
indicated may help hini and prolong 
his life. 



CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 



147 



Hemorrhage of Oviduct — I wish a 
Httle information in regard to a Leg- 
horn hen that " died yesterday. She 
apparently choked to death; made a 
queer noise. We opened her and 
found at the bottom of her egg bag 
a large clot of black blood. Can you 
tell me what it was and if there is any 
cure for it? 

Answer — Your White Leghorn hen 
had a hemorrhage of the oviduct; this 
IS excited by any of the causes 
which lead to congestion and inflam- 
mation and may be counteracted by 
green feed and the suppression of egg 
foods, stimulants, red pepper, etc. 
It sometimes occurs from try'n:; to 
pass too large an egg. There is no 
cure that I know of, as death occurs 
before one finds out what is the mat- 
ter. 



ness to feed your fowls every time 
they come near you. It is far kinder 
to keep them working for it and so 
keep tliem healthy. 



Indigestion and Liver Complaint — 

My hens are on a strike, and their 
faces and combs are becoming pale or 
yellow. What is it?— I. S. B. 

Answer — You have been over-feed- 
ing, and now your fowls have indiges- 
tion. Indigestion in fowls is the 
cause of many ailments. With your 
birds it has been brought on by lack 
of grit, with not sufficient roughness 
(or filling) and too little exercise. 
How can indigestion be prevented? 
By dieting. Feed more bulky foods, 
such as alfalfa, and less solids. A 
continued grain diet of wheat, corn, 
barley, if few in quantities and not 
varied by bulky foods, vegetables, 
etc., will bring on indigestion, es- 
pecially when but little exercise is 
taken. An insufficiency of clean wa- 
ter is also conducive to this trouble. 
Clover, alfalfa, any of the green stuffs 
or vegetables, usually fed to fowls, 
are absolutely necessary preserva- 
tives of health. Now, as to a remedy: 
Your fowls' indigestion has taken the 
phase of biliousness. Give each af- 
fected hen one of Carter's Little Liv- 
er Pills, and give the whole flock a 
teaspoonful of baking soda in a quart 
of water every day for a week. Give 
no other water. Why do I recom- 
mend soda? Because it helps to emul- 
sify the too much fat in the bowels. 
You might give a teaspoonful of Ep- 
som salts in the water for a week, to 
carry off the bile which is overflow- 
ing into the intestines and being tak- 
en into tlie system. It is not kind- 



Inflammation of the Crop — I have a 
P>uff ()rpington hen that has a dis- 
ease 1 have never seen before. Iler 
craw is swollen to several ■ times its 
normal size and is filled with wind or 
gas. She eats but not as much as 
she should and is getting thinner all 
the time.— H. Y. 

Answer — Your hen is suffering 
from inflammation of the crop. This 
is like a very severe attack of indi- 
gestion. The causes of this are irrc- 
gvilar feeding or too much food be- 
ing taken at one time. Partially de- 
composed meat, or putrid food of any 
kind will also cause congestion and 
fermentation of the contents of the 
crop. The same disease occurs when 
birds eat substances containing phos- 
phorus or arsenic, or rat poison. The 
feeding of too large a quantity of 
pepper or stimulating "egg food" in 
the mash will also cause inflamed 
crop as well as trouble with the egg 
function. 

Treatment — A clean, dry pen 
should be provided for the affected 
bird. Empty the crop of its irritating 
and decomposing contents by careful 
pressure and manipulation while the 
bird is held with its head downward 
When the crop is freed of its con- 
tents, give two grains of subnitrate of 
bismuth and one-half grain of bi- 
carbonate of soda in a teaspoon of 
water. The bird should then be kept 
without food for eighteen hours and 
then fed sparingly upon easily digest- 
ed food, such as bread and milk. 
Half a grain of quinine morning and 
night for two or three days will 
complete the cure. 



Influenza — I am in trouble with my 
chickens. Five of them have* died 
since Monday. They open their 
mouths and gasp for breath and 
sneeze and their eyes are very wa- 
tery. I feed wheat, cracked corn, 
plenty of green stuff and table scraps 
and they have a good run. I always 
wash out their drinking pans and 
rake out under their roosts at least 
every other morning. — Mrs. J. F. S. 



148 



MRS. BASLF.Y'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



Answer — Your chickens have in- 
IliKMiza. Tlicy arc taking cold in 
scinu' way. lutlior there is a draught 
in tlK'ir liousc or tlie rain comes in 
on thcni; a few have had the cold 
and they are giving it to the rest. 
Keep blue-stone in their water, and 
.^ive each of them a bolus of the fol- 
lowing, night and morning: Mix two 
tablespoons of lard, one tablespoon 
each of cayemie pei)pcr, mustard, 
\inegar; mix thoroughl}', add enough 
llour to make stifif dough; roll out; 
give a bolus as large as the end of 
your little finger. Put carbolated 
vaseline up tlieir nostrils and in the 
cleft of tile mouth, and give them 
cliopped onions in their food. 



Leg Weakness — T am in trouble 
over my White Rock chickens. I 
only have a few, so would like to 
save them. When they are about 
three weeks old they get weak in 
tlie legs, and after a week or so they 
begin to tremble like a person that 
is nervous. They eat well until the 
last. I feed boiled egg and bread 
crumbs. They have green barley to 
nni on. I feed kaffir corn at night. 
During the day I feed onions and 
table scraps. If you could tell me 
what to do I would be a thousand 
times obliged. — Mrs. W. K. 

Answer — Your chickens are suffer- 
ing from what is called "leg weak- 
ness." Leg weakness comes chiefly 
from wrong feeding, also from over- 
cro\yding at night and overheating. 

Young chickens should either be al- 
lowed free range with a hen or be 
encouraged to work and scratch for 
their food. This strengthens their 
legs. The green food should form at 
least one-third of their diet and for 
such young chickens it would have to 
be chopped up finely. They cannt^tt 
peck ofT sufficient green barley. It 
soon becomes too tough for them. 
The cure for leg weakness is a little 
tonic (a few drops of iron in their 
drinking water) and plentj' of green 
food and cracked wheat instead of 
kaffir corn. If it comes from over- 
crowding or overheating, either un- 
der a hen or in a brooder, you must 
rectify this. See that they have 
"chick grit and charcoal." 



write to ask you to be kind enough 
to diagnose it. 

The chicks are Black Minorcas and 
are fourteen days old. They seemed 
to be doing well till yesterday. One 
or two all at once got so they could 
not stand up or walk but looked 
bright. This morning there are half 
a dozen affected the same way. I 
feed them a chick feed I have used 
for several years, curd, charcoal, and 
plenty of grit and always give the 
fresh water three or four times a 
day. For the last three days they 
have run in a lettuce patch part of 
the day. I have a hot air brooder, 
plenty of fresh air at night. No 
sign of lice and I use a powder in 
the brooder once a week. I have 
raised chickens for several years but 
have never had any trouble like this 
and I would be greatly obliged if 
3^ou can diagnose the case and give 
a remedy. — Mrs P. V. M., Sacra- 
mento. 

Answer — The symptoms you de- 
scribe arc those of poisoning or sud- 
den and acute indigestion. I can only 
suggest that it may be that the chick 
feed has mouldy grain in it or there 
may be ptomaine poison in the beef 
scrap. I would .'■ugoCst that you put 
a little bicarbonate of soda in the 
drinking water. Give all the succu- 
lent green food that yuu can per- 
suade them to eat and to each af- 
fected chick administer without de- 
lay ten drops of castor oil. Tr^' "o 
find out where the poison comes 
from, change all tlie bedding in the 
brooder and brooder house and scald 
the brooder thoroughly with hot soap 
suds. When any sudden trouble like 
this comes, try to find the cause of 
it and remove it. I feel sure it is 
poison of some kind, either ptomaine 
or fungoid, such as mould}' bread or 
mildewed grain. 



Acute Indigestion — I am in trouble 
with some incubator chicks and I 



Limber Neck — We have between 
200 and 300 chicks two months old 
that are badly afflicted with limber 
neck, and we cannot find out the 
cause. The first two or three weeks 
we fed them millet and Johnnie cake 
made stiff and dry, of coarse corn 
meal, but thej' began to get sick, so 
changed to dry food, consisting of 
cracked wheat, millet, beef-scraps and 
grit, but the chicks got no better, so 
now we are using just wheat and 



CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 



149 



grit. They have lettuce every day 
and often young vegetables — tops and 
all. Until abo-ut a week ago they 
were kept by themselves in wire 
pens, but as an experiment my hus- 
band let them out to run and still 
they get sick. They do not all die 
as I bring them to the house as soon 
as we find the sick ones, but from 
one to seven die nearly every day. 
They have fresh water every morn- 
ing. I do not try to doctor them, 
but just keep them warm. I have saved 
some pretty sick ones in that way. 
They are such a bother and we have 
lost so many in that way. The flock 
which is the most affected had a ha- 
bit of huddling when they were small, 
until they would sweat and some- 
times die. Do you suppose that 
could have anything to do with the 
present troubles? — Mrs F. L. 

Answer — Limber neck is due to a 
disorder of the nervous system and 
is usually the result of disturbances 
of the digestive organs from severe 
attacks of indigestion or from infesta- 
tion with worm parasites. Chicks 
are sometimes affected in this manner 
by unusually hot day and nights. I 
think very probably their digestive or- 
gans were weakened by being over- 
heated when they huddled and I 
would give the whole flock plenty of 
charcoal to eat, with plenty of green 
food and animal food, and no millet, 
as millet is very hard to digest. Give 
the sick birds a small piece of gum 
asafoetida, about the size of a green 
pea. Repeat the dose the second day. 
This will usually cure. Feed them 
with bruised garlic or with chopped 
up onions. Give them grit or very 
coarse sand in boxes to assist in the 
digestion, and I think you will have 
no further trouble. 

It is . possible that your chickens 
have worms. You had better open 
the next one that dies and examine 
it and if you find it infected, give the 
others turpentine in the drinking wa- 
ter, half a teaspoonful to a pint of 
water (giving no other drinking wa- 
ter) or if you prefer it give a tea- 
spoonful of Castor oil with ten drops 
of turpentine in it to each sick chick. 
The chickens dislike the turpentine in 
the water but it will kill the com- 
mon round worms if continued for a 
week. 



Liver Trouble or Poison — I want 

your advice and a remedy for my 
sick fowls. The symptoms are brief- 
ly stated: Grown chickens affected 
droop for two days, comb turns 
black and they die. Have lost nine 
in two days. 

My chickens have free range, fresh 
water and plenty of barnyard scratch- 
ing with Egyptian corn every night. 
— C. V. N. 

Answer — The symptoms you de- 
scribe denote either liver trouble or 
poison. In your case I think per- 
haps it is poison, either from rat 
poison, gopher or some poisonous 
weed. You had better hold a post 
mortem examination on the next one 
that dies and then you will be able 
to tell just what the trouble is. 



Mange — I have a Plymouth Rock 
hen tliat has the under part of her 
body and legs and feet covered witli 
hard, scaley sores of all sizes from a 
bean to a couple of inches across. 
Some are light yellow, some red and 
some purple in color. She seems to 
be all right otherwise, eats good and 
comb and head look red and healthy. 
Please tell me what ails my hen and 
if I can cure her. — Mrs A. H. S. 

Answer — I think your hen has 
mange. I would advise you to kill 
her and bury deeply or burn the body 
because when it is as virulent as you 
describe, it would be very difficult to 
cure and all those kind of diseases are 
exceedingly infectious. Carbolic 

salve at the first might have cured 
her but now it is too late and the 
time, trouble and expense of treat- 
ment, with the probability of the 
others becoming affected, would not 
pay. 



Naked Chicks — -Thinking perhaps 
you can help us I will ask you for a 
little of your time. Late in October 
we bought a hen caring for thirty 
chicks. We have fed them cracked 
corn, meat scraps, plenty of green 
stuff, charcoal and grit. They fea- 
thered out but since many of them 
have become bald, and the feathers 
fall from their neck and they are 
growing thin, still their wing feathers 
are long, making them look very 
queer. They are not incubator 
chicks, and we have examined them 
closely for mites, have dusted them 



150 



MRS. HAST.EVS WESTF.RN POULTRY ROOK 



lor lice and they arc quite free from 
either. W'liat do you tliiiik is tlie 
cause and what ean we do for them? 
— 11. A. S. 

.\nswer — Your ehickens are hud- 
dlinjj: at nit;ht. erowdiny too closely 
loi^etlier. This makes them sweat 
and tlieir feathers fall out. Put a 
little carbolated vaseline on their 
heads and cut the feathers of their 
winys as close as j'ou can without 
niakins>- them bleed. Give them wheat 
and more meat in their food and try 
lo prevent their crowding at night. 
It is the crowding and lack of wheat 
ill the food, lack of protein, that pre- 
\ents the featiiers growing, and the 
sweating makes them fall out ami 
will make the chickens thin. 



Ovarian Tumor — I had a nice Or- 
pington hen: she had been laying 
each day and appeared to be perfectly 
healthy; comb red, went around seem- 
ing quite well. I feed cracked corn 
and wheat, table scraps, and the 
chickens have good range and plenty 
of good food. About four days ago 
the Orpington appeared to be lame 
in the riglit leg. I caught her, ex- 
.imined the foot and leg, could see 
nothing wrong and she continued 
lame, and with difficulty got on the 
nest. To all appearances the leg was 
broken, as it was harder for her to 
walk each day. Rather than see her 
suffer I had her killed. I dissected 
her; she was very fat with an abund- 
ance of eggs, one soft shell. I found 
in the right side of the back a growth 
about the size of a pigeon egg, which 
appeared to be part of the egg bag. 
The liver and other organs appeared 
to be healthy. I hope that you may 
be able to tell me what the growth 
was and if there is a cure for it, in 
case any of the other hens have such 
symptoms. The hen was about two 
and a half years old. Would age 
have a tendency to liinder her? — Mrs. 
II. R. H. 

Answer — Your hen had what is 
called an ovarian tumor. The trou- 
ble is very common, and yet we don't 
know very much about it. I am in- 
clined to think that if investigations 
covering a large number of fowls kept 
under a variety of conditions were 
made, it would be found that cases of 
tumor like this are more abundant 
.inioiig fowls kei)t closely confined, or 



fed heavily for egg production, than 
among those kept under more natural 
conditions. It is quite reasonable al- 
so to sui)j)Ose that the offspring of 
hens heavily forced for (:gg produc- 
tion would show weakness of the re- 
productive system, resulting in dis- 
eases of this character. It possibly 
also may come from an injury of 
some kind. Undoubtedly some 
strains or families are more subject 
to it than others. There is no cure 
for it and the oidy preventive is to 
keep the hens healthy and busy. 



Over Fat Hens — I have about two 
dozen Buff Orpington hens and have 
had no eggs for four months. They 
appear as healthy as can be. For 
some time I fed them wheat twice a 
day and the table scraps. I began 
to think I was not feeding the proper 
foods; then I got bran and an egg 
maker and also bought cabbage for 
them and still no eggs. They have 
lots of exercise and gravel and are 
so fat you cannot eat them. Please 
tell me what to do to reduce the fat. 
The past two weeks I have been giv- 
ing them just the scraps from the 
table. Tell me, is that the proper 
method to reduce fat? — Mrs A. C. S. 

Answer — Your hens are so fat that 
they cannot laj-. The whole inside of 
them is filled full of fat so the eggs 
cannot pass down the egg duct. The 
best plan would be to kill and eat, 
or sell the fowls, because they will 
not make satisfactory laj'^ers after 
being so fat. 

However, if you wish to keep them, 
j'our only plan will be not to give 
any grain, or any table scraps until 
they are reduced in fat; give only 
green alfalfa or lawn clippings, for 
two weeks, then commence and feed 
half an ounce of meat per hen per 
day and lawn clippings; no grain or 
bread, and in about a month they 
maj' begin to lay. 



Pendulous Crop — I have a hen. 
and its crop hangs down so far that 
when it walks its feet are always 
hitting it. We cut it open once and 
only the corn and feed it had eaten 
came out of it. I have thought I 
would kill it, but I was afraid it 
might be a tumor and that the hen 
would not be fit to eat. She seems 
healthv otherwise. 



CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 



151 



Answer — Your hen has a pendulous 
crop. This is usually caused by over- 
feeding of mash at some time in her 
life, it sometimes can be cured by a 
surgical operation. I would advise 
you to kill and eat the hen, as in 
time the crop will become sore. You 
can easily see before you eat it if a 
tumor has developed, in which case 
bury it. 



Poisoning — For some time I have 
read your articles and know that you 
are different from the majority of 
poultry writers, in this, that you 
know what you arc writing about. 
I wish to ask you to please tell me 
what is ailing a fine White Wyan- 
dotte cock I have. He has been ail- 
ing about two months. He was just 
starting in the moult when he com- 
menced looseness of the bowels which 
I cured, when one evening, as I came 
to shut them up, I found him on the 
ground unable to get on the roosts; 
when I lifted him on the roost he 
fell as though dizzy and tumbled 
over and over. Ever since that time 
he has been getting worse. Now, 
with the least excitement, he will 
squat on the ground and twist his 
head and neck entirely around, often 
with his bill turned straight up. 

Answer — The symptoms you de- 
scribe are those of ptomaine poison- 
ing. This is caused by bad meat or 
bad milk or spoilt beef scraps. Also 
by musty or smooty grain and for- 
maline. The treatment is: give a pill 
of asafoetida about the size of a pea 
every night for a week; for the same 
length of time put bicarbonate of soda 
in the water, about a teaspoonful to 
a quart of water; give him some char- 
coal in the feed and avoid feeding 
whatever is causing the trouble. 

The preservative which butchers 
put on the meat acts as a poison and 
many fine birds have been lost 
by this without the owners discover- 
ing the trouble. It seems to partly 
paralyze the bird. 



Ptomaine Poison— ^I am in great 
trouble and come to you for advice. 
My splendid White Leghorn chickens 
are dying like flies and I do not 
know the cause nor what to do for 
them. 

Today I lost ten and I am afraid 
I may lose the whole lot of them. I 



opened several to see if I could find 
the cause, but ihcy look all right, 
with the exception of the crop which 
lias nothing in it but wind or air. 
The chickens are seemingly all right 
and suddenly they will lie down, put 
their heads under their bodies, and 
after a while they will die. 

My chickens have plenty of exer- 
cise, lots of green food, grit and run- 
ning water. They can run at will 
all over the ranch and I feed them 
some every day. I am putting some 
pulverized asafoetida in their mash as 
a disinfectant. My chicken house is 
new and in good order. — Mrs. K. G., 
Polasky. 

Answer — Sudden symptoms such as 
you describe come from poison of 
some kind which brings on an attack 
of acute indigestion. The difificulty is 
to decide what the poison is and 
where the chickens get it. 

I think your chickens, being on free 
range, are finding and eating putrid 
animal food of some kind and that 
they are suffering from ptomaine 
poison. 

Rotten vegetables or moulded grain 
or vegetables have the same effect, 
although that is from a fungoid poi- 
son. 

The treatment in either case would 
be about the same. F"irst remove the 
poison from the ranch, look for any 
dead chicken, bird, gopher, etc., and 
bury deeply or burn. Continue the 
asafoetida in the mash but also add 
a teaspoonful of castor oil for each 
chick the first morning and in every 
mash for some time to come put pow- 
dered charcoal and sulphur, a quar- 
ter of a teaspoonful to each chick. 



Poison — I thank you very much 
for your kind advice. I feed now as 
you direct me, with fairly good re- 
sults. The beef scrap of which I send 

you a sample, I bought at 

and it killed my chickens. 

I fed it to different flocks at differ- 
ent times with the same result and I 
am positive it is this beef scrap and 
nothing else that poisoned my chick- 
ens. I wonder how many people have 
lost chickens through these same peo- 
ple who sold to me. Perhaps they 
sell good scrap sometimes, but this 
is bad and smells bad. 

What is the best way to feed rab- 
bits to hens? I cannot grind them in 
a bone cutter, can I? — J. 11. 



152 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



Answer — The beef scrap that you 
sent me certainly docs not smell at 
all good. It often occurs in the sum- 
mer that beef scrap that may have 
been good earlier in the year has 
become moist or heated and a poi- 
son has developed in it, so in the 
summer I advise poultry raisers to 
buy it only in small quantities and 
try to have it as sweet as possible. 

You know I feared it was the beef 
scrap and so advised you to use milk 
and wild game and to avoid the beef 
scrap. You will have to skin the 
rabbits or squirrels and then you can 
surely grind them up in your bone 
cutter or if you cannot you might 
Iiack them up with at hatchet on a 
block of wood, or you can boil them 
and let the hens peck the meat off 
and then chop the bones up on the 
block. The hens will come running 
when they hear that hatchet chop- 
ping. I have had them running a 
• luartcr of a mile to get the bones 
that were flying off the hatchet. The 
rabbit and squirrel bones chop very 
easily and the hens do love them. 



Poison — I want to know what is 
the matter with my friend's chickens. 
They are a mixed flock, one year old, 
all laying. They are fed on scraps 
or garbage. 

The first thing she noticed they 
were on the roost hanging their 
heads down as far as they could 
stretch. Then they fall on the ground 
and run their heads out as far as they 
can, and die three or four days later. 
Slie has lost seventeen. — Mrs F. 

Answer — This is what is called 
"limber neck," and comes from poi- 
soning by bad (putrid) meat, fish, 
or garbage that is moldy. Tell your 
friend to put a little bicarbonate of 
soda in tlic drinking water — a small 
tcaspoonful to a quart — and to give 
also ground charcoal in the food and 
give each hen tliat is so affected a 
dose of either Epsom salts (half a 
tcaspoonful) dissolved in water, or a 
tcaspoonful of castor oil. 



Mildew Poison — Will you kindly 
answer tlic following questions: "My 
White Leghorns are dying from 
bowel trouble. Two were sick for 
two daj's. I have noticed this since 
I began feeding a dark variety of 
wheat or mildewed wheat. The hens 
have not laid well and their combs 



are dark. I think it is the wheat. 
Will you please tell me a remedy? 
Do you think it is the wheat? — Mrs. 
J. W. H. 

Answer — Mildew is poisonous to 
fowls and the wheat you are feeding 
them is killing them. Stop giving 
them that wheat, and give them a 
little charcoal in their food and also 
a little carbonate of soda in their 
drinking water, about a half-teaspoon- 
ful of bicarbonate of soda to a quart 
of drinking water. But there will be 
no use in doctoring if you keep on 
feeding them the poisonous wheat. 



Pip — I have read your remarks 
carefully for over a year, but do not 
remember anything about pip. All 
my flock have it, one year and three 
days old. How do they get it? Is 
it hereditary? If so, is it in the 
strain or the breed, White Wyan- 
dottes? Is it fatal? If so, in what 
time? What is your treatment? 

Thanking you for your reply, I am, 
very respectfully. — W. H. 

Answer — I have not seen a genuine 
case of "pip" for many a long year — 
in fact, never in California. The 
poultry medical books here assert 
that it is only a symptom of a dis- 
ease and not a disease at all; that it 
is only a dryness of the tongue pro- 
duced by feverishness and rapid 
breathing. However, I well rcmem- 
])er the disease at my grandmother's 
in Europe and there the cure was 
very siinplc. 

The pip there was a real disease. 
It was a small horn or scale that 
grew on the end of the tongue. The 
tip of it was quite sharp, almost like 
a thorn, and the edges were almost 
as sharp as a knife. The sharp point 
and edges seem to prevent the fowls 
from picking up and swallowing the 
grain and they die of starvation. 

When we noticed a hen which drop- 
l)ed the grain we examined her and 
if we found a hard, sharp scale on the 
tip of the tongue we would remove 
it with the thumb nail, scaling it off, 
commencing under the tip of the ton- 
gue. Then we touched the spot with 
bora.x and honey and gave the hen a 
dose of Epsom salts, about a quar- 
ter of a tcaspoonful, or a lump of 
very salt butter. We fed soft food 
for a few days. The hens recovered 
quickly. 



CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 



153 



Poisoned — Yesterday morning I 
found nine big chickens in my yard 
dead and about twelve more are dy- 
ing. What is the cause? They sit on 
the ground, do not eat and the head 
hangs loose on the ground. The comb 
is dark and in the throat is a sticky 
slime like white mucilage. No bad 
smell; sometimes they jump a foot 
and lay down again. I fear they will 
all die. To a few I gave a teaspoon- 
ful of olive oil, and to some others 
fresh milk. I cannot imagine what it 
is. 

Other fowls in the next yard are 
not affected, and all had the same 
food.— Mrs. F. C. P. 

Answer — Your chickens have lim- 
ber necks from ptomaine poisoning. 
Give the whole flock hypo-sulphite of 
soda; dissolve one teaspoonful in a 
quart of drinking water. And to each 
chicken that is affected give a piece 
of asafoetida about the size of a green 
pea. Use the gum form, and repeat 
the dose the second day. This dis- 
ease usually comes from severe at- 
tacks of indigestion, caused by eating 
bad animal food, or the decaying car- 
cass of a dead animal. Putrid meat 
or putrid milk will cause it. 



increase the amount of green food 
and meat, and cut in half the amount 
of grain, and let all of the grain be 
fed in the scratching pen to induce 
exercise. 



Rheumatism — I have a White Ply- 
mouth Rock hen about eight months 
old, which seems to have rheumatism. 
She is very fat, and a few days ago 
she walked lame in one leg and the 
next morning she was lame in both 
legs and now she cannot stand erect, 
but walks and crawls on her legs, the 
legs being drawn up under her so 
that in moving around she does not 
seem to be able to straighten out her 
legs, but moves with them underneath, 
from the knee down being flat on the 
ground. Can you tell me what is the 
matter, and a remedy? — W. A. B. 

Answer — I am afraid your hen has 
rheumatism from liver trouble, 
brought on by overfeeding, with in- 
sufficient exercise, and I cannot hold 
out any hope of a cure at her age. 
If she is not feverish, she would be 
good for the table, but being very 
fat, and with this rheumatic ten- 
dency, she would never make a good 
layer, and the hatchet is the only 
cure for her. For the rest of the 
flock, give them Epsom salts in the 
drinking water for a week, and bi- 
carbonate of soda for a second week; 



Rheumatism in the Feet — I have a 
very fine Buff Leghorn rooster and 
he seems to have rheumatism in his 
feet. Do you know any cure? — Mrs. 
J. M. S. 

Answer — Rheumatism many result 
from long exposure to cold and 
moisture; it may be produced by over- 
feeding of meat; induced through the 
under-feeding of vegetable food and 
is helped along by previous rheumatic 
tendencies of ancestors. 

Treatment — Bathe the feet and 
shanks with the following: One cup- 
ful of vinegar, one of turpentine and 
a heaping teaspoonful of saltpeter, 
mix in a bottle and shake well before 
using. For internal treatment there 
is no better remedy than iodide of po- 
tassium. This is given in the drink- 
ing water, fifteen grains of iodide of 
potassium to every quart of water. 
Give in small dishes so that it all may 
be used while fresh and thus avoid 
waste from having to throw away 
any, because it is mixed with dirt. 
Common cooking soda, one level tea- 
spoon to each quart of water, or sali- 
cylic acid, one grain a day, has given 
good results, but the iodide is the 
best and most satisfactory. Give 
plenty of green food. 



Roup, Bronchitis, Pneumonia — (F. 

M. S., California) — Can you favor me 
with a little information which I fail 
to locate in your valuable, book and 
it covers the ground very well. On 
a cold and windy night two weeks 
ago a careless boy left a window open 
in a house, allowing a strong draft to 
blow on my precious four-months-old 
pullets. Consequence, about half of 
them (586 all told) came down with 
bad colds. Some developed roupy 
catarrh, others eyes swelled close 
shut. Sprayed nostrils with glyco- 
tliermoline and carbolic acid. No good 
effect noted. Put roup cure in drink- 
ing water and dipped head in same. 
Majority are improving. There is 
one phase of disease that puzzles me 
and of course it attacks the largest 
and finest pullets. They seem to have 
difiiculty in getting their breath. Act 



154 



MRS. B.VSLEVS WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



like ;i chick with the gapes. Open 
their mouths and gasp with a strained, 
worried look on their faces. Live 
ahout twelve liours and die choking 
to death in one last convulsion. These 
so atTected have not so much odor at 
nostrils as majority. No mucus spots 
iti throat. Throat seems to be full of 
l^hlegni. Don't eat at all. Spraying 
throat with glyco-thcrmolinc and acid, 
and iKiinting with iodine or running 
feather saturated with coal oil down 
wind pipe offers no relief whatever. 
Xo one around me seems to know of 
any remedy. If you can diagnose it 
and suggest a remedy, will appreciate 
it greatly, as I hate to lose chickens 
when they get this old, and I put 
great faith in your suggestions. 

Answer — I sj-mpathize most sin- 
cerely with you in your trouble from 
your beautiful pullets taking cold, and 
wisli T could lielp you. I think you 
have been doing all that was possible. 
You see, hens are very much like hu- 
man beings. One person will have 
neuralgia from a draught, while an- 
other will have a sore throat, and 
while from the same cause one may 
have catarrh, in another the trouble 
will be bronchitis or even pneumonia. 
Now. I think with your pullets, some 
of them have catarrh, others swell 
heads, and with others the catarrh 
has gone down lower into the bron- 
chial tubes and possibly into the lungs 
themselves. 

Now as to treatment. If I remem- 
ber rightly, the roup cure you arc 
using is made principally of perman- 
ganate of potash and bluestone (.sul- 
pliate of copper). Both of these are 
excellent germicides and by killing 
the germs of the catarrh or roup, they 
prevent their multiplying, and give 
nature a chance to recuperate. I 
think, though, the roup cure is more 
effective than the severer medicines, 
such as turpentine and carbolic acid, 
so I now recommend that your roup 
cure be given in the drinking water, 
at the same time dipping the head in 
tlie same. Or you can put one cupful 
of kerosene oil into two parts of wa- 
ter. The oil will float on top; dip 
the fowl's head slowly under this, 
holding it there while you count three. 
It will sneeze and cough and you 
must wipe oft' the mucus with a rag 
and burn the rag. 

With some of tlie fowls the catarrh 
will go deeper and for these I think 



the perc^xide of hydrogen, spraying 
the throat well, is the best, giving 
always the permanganate of potash 
and bluestone in the drinking water. 

For those tliat have developed bron- 
chitis or where you think the bron- 
cliitis may be just commencing, give 
aconite, one drop in a teaspoonful 
of milk, twice or three times a day. 
The symptoms you describe are ex- 
actly those of bronchitis, so I feel 
confident in recommending the aco- 
nite. Dr. Woods recommends the 
"Aconite, Bryonia and Spongis mix- 
ture," but I have not tried it. The 
mixture is "ten drops of the tincture 
of each in an ounce of alcohol. Use 
a teaspoonful of this in a quart of 
drinking water." I think this might 
be very useful, especially at the com- 
m.encement of a cold or bronchitis. 
Dr. Woods says that two doses will 
often effect a cure. Or you can get 
this in tablet form at the drug store. 
The tablet (1-100 of a grain in 
strength) can be given one to each 
bird two or three times a day or 
twelve tablets in each pint of drinking 
water. 

I have found a teaspoonful of honey 
with five drops of eucalyptus oil, 
twice a daj-, to be an excellent cure. 
The hone}' iis very soothing and is also 
nourishing and sustaining. Bronchitis 
is a very debilitating illness and the 
fowl should be fed only liquid nour- 
ishment, such as raw egg beaten up 
with half the amount of milk, about 
two teaspoonsful everj'^ two or three 
hours. I have given a tablespoonful 
of milk or milk with honey mixed. I 
have a small "invalid drinking cup;" 
it is a narrow cup with a spout like a 
tea pot, wdiich I have found very use- 
ful and hand}-, as I could insert the 
spout a little w'ays down the throat 
of the hen and none of the liquid 
would be spilt. A child's toy teapot 
with a rather long spout will answer 
the purpose, but an invalid drinking 
cup. costing ten cents, is extremely 
useful and worth many times its price 
for chickens. You can use a dropping 
tube also for administering liquid 
medicine. I realize that with the large 
number of fowls that you have you 
want an easy and quick way of doc- 
toring, and the only waj' is the drink- 
ing water. 

In cases of cold or the cold going 
deeper as into bronchitis, or pneumo- 
nia, fowls need very easilj' digested, 



CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 



155 



light and nourishing food. I have 
found nothing better than bread and 
milk. To this can be added a little 
bran, or a few eggs can be beaten up 
with the milk before putting in the 
bread if you think necessary. You 
did perfectly right to segregate the 
fowls. Colds of all kinds, even pneu- 
monia, are infectious. 

I would strongly advise you to 
house your hens in open front houses. 
In this way there would be no 
draughts from windows left open. 
Open front houses are a preventive of 
both bronchitis and pneumonia. 

I have found that the pills or asa- 
foetida and quinine which I recom- 
mend in my book, if given at the 
very outbreak of a cold, frequently 
cure with one dose; also the mixture. 
No. 5. This is Mr. Hunter's old rem- 
edy and has been found successful 
by hundreds of people. 



Roup — How to Cure It — I have 
over a hundred hens, all breeds. A 
good many of them are sick; I have 
tried everything, but to date I have 
not found anything to do them good. 
A yellow, hard substance that has a 
very bad odor forms in their mouths 
and eventually in their windpipes and 
they drop over dead. I have lost 
about thirty inside of one month. I 
feed chopped corn and wheat, with 
plenty of Pratt's chicken food. Use 
Conkey's Roup Cure and bluestone. 
They run at the nose and their eyes 
swell shut; others look fine, combs 
red, and you would not know any- 
thing was wrong with them until they 
fall over dead. Can you tell me what 
is the matter with them and what I 
am to do with them? I paid $1.00 a 
piece for my hens and it is hard to 
see them all die and not know what 
to do for them. — Mrs. R. B. 

Answer — I am very sorry to say 
that it is diphtheritic roup that your 
hens have — very like diphtheria in 
children. 

It is a germ disease. At first the 
hens take a little cold and the germ 
then seems to take root and the yel- 
low leather-like spots commence to 
grow and continue until they choke 
the fowls. 

The first thing to do is to separate 
the healthy fowls from those that are 
sick and disinfect the premises thor- 
oughly. Discover if possible what is 
giving the fowls a cold. The usual 



causes of cold are a draught in the 
sleeping room, a narrow draught 
that strikes on the fowls as they 
roost, caused by a crack or a knot- 
hole, or a house that has no ventila- 
tion; too much crowding at night, 
which makes the fowls hot and 
sweaty, and they take cold when they 
come out in the morning fresh air, 
or roosting outside in the rain and 
dew. Lice will also give them cold 
and will carry infection from fowl to 
fowl. When one fowl has a cold, the 
others are very likely to catch it from 
the water, from the food or from 
contact in sleeping on the same perch. 
I explain this so you may decide for 
yourself what is causing the trouble 
and may use preventive measures and 
stop their taking cold. 

Now for some cures: Last August 
I gave eight different roup cures. I 
will not repeat them all here, but will 
say put a good cure into the water 
(I will try to send you one by mail). 
A bit of bluestone (sulphate of cop- 
per) as large as a navy bean, in a 
quart of water, is an excellent rem- 
edy and preventive. Bluestone is a 
germ killer and when it is in the 
water it will kill the germs that float 
off the chicken's nostrils, and that 
would infect another fowl. It also 
kills any germs that it may reach 
in the sick fowl's nostril and so dries 
up the cold in the head. Of course, 
it is a strong astringent poison and 
should i>ot be given in stronger doses 
than I have indicated. Also keep 
those pretty bits of blue out of reach 
of the baby. Rub the heads of those 
that have watery eyes with carbolized 
vaseline and put a little into the nos- 
trils and in the cleft of the mouth. 

For those that have the white or 
yellow spots, spray the mouth or 
swab it with peroxide of hydrogen 
twice a day. Use it half and half 
water. The peroxide of hydrogen 
kills the diphtheria and will prevent 
its developing. There is a possibility 
that the spots may be canker in some 
cases (those that are apparently not 
very sick), in which case get four 
grains of sulpho-carbolate of zinc, dis- 
solve in one ounce of distilled water 
and paint the spots lightly. This 
will kill the germ of canker. It is not 
the same germ as the diphtheria, and 
the two medicines cannot be mixed, 
as they may be said to neutralize each 
other. If you are not sure which dis- 



156 



MRS. RASLEVS WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



case it is, you niiglit doctor one day 
witli peroxide ami the following- day 
with the zinc. 

Add lo the diet of tlie fouls onions 
choiip<-'d linely, with a teaspoonful of 
cayenne pepper for a dozen hens, or if 
you can get then, grind up chili pep- 
pers and give a tablespoon ful in the 
food or mixed with bran. 



Scaley Legs — Will you be so kind 
as to explain what kind of disease my 
hens have? I am a green man in the 
poultry business and bought the hens 
from several places, with the inten- 
tion of having in the shortest time a 
suiVicient number of egg producers. 
Among the purchased birds there 
were about sixty with scaley legs. I 
inclosed them in a separate yard, v^O x 
40, fed them abundantly, and every 
morning they were urged to pass 
through a tray with coal oil. After 
ten ilays many of them had legs clean 
from scales, but some became weak 
and droopy. They walk with difficulty 
and keep their tails down. Thej' grow 
worse every day. 1 killed two of them 
and found that about half their bodies 
were covered with yellow scales like 
a sort of bad skin which you can 
easily tear off. Is it a contagious dis- 
ease, and what shall I do with the 
sick birds?— F. P. 

Answer — Poor hens: it is not a dis- 
ease. It is the coal oil that wets their 
feathers and that blisters the skin. 
Those that have been much wetted on 
the feathers with the oil are probabh' 
too badly burned to recover. The 
others will get well in time, but it 
will greatly delay their laying. 

Do not try again such heroic treat- 
ment. It costs you. too much. Next 
time mix one spoonful of lard with 
one spoonful of coal oil and one 
spoonful of powdered sulphur: rub 
the legs with that twice a week. 

Scaley legs come from the scale 
mite and are verv infectious. 



Swelled Eyes — What is the best 
cure for swelling of the eyes in half- 
grown chicks? They have the colony 
liouses and are fed according to the 
method advised, but they seem to 
catch cold. It is very contagious and 
seems to be running through the 
Mock,— I. F. S. 

Answer — Your chickens are taking 



cold, probably from a draught of some 
kind in tlieir sleeping quarters. Find 
out the crack or hole wliich is causing 
the draught and stop it up. Put blue- 
stone into their drinking water — a 
piece the size of a navy bean in one 
quart of w^ater. Grease their heads 
with carbolated vaseline. Separate 
the sick from the well, for it is very 
infectious. Those that are sick should 
have a pill of quinine for three nights 
in succession — 1 grain. 



Swell Shut and Water— Will you 
kindly tell me the cause of sore eyes? 
My chickens' ej'es swell shut and wa- 
ter. I also have turkeys; their eyes 
swell underneath. — Mrs. C. J. N. 

Answer — Your chickens and tur- 
keys have lice and are taking cold. 
The}' are taking cold from either 
sleeping in a draught or sleeping in a 
place that is too close and hot, so 
they take cold when they come out 
in the morning. Remedy the cause 
and use one of the many roup cures, 
and also get rid of the lice. Lice go 
to the ej'cs to drink and so spread the 
disease. 



Swell Head — Mj- chickens are dying 
off awfull}-. Many of them are good 
sized pullets. Their heads seem to 
swell and the\' go blind and just drop 
off. Some of them open their mouths 
and stretch and act as though some- 
thing was choking ttiem. but I cannot 
detect anything. The\' had mites, but 
have none now. We have a good 
yard for them, and an alfalfa patch 
and some shade trees. I feed them 
well, and am at a loss to understand. 
My neighbors on either side of us 
have the same trouble. — Mrs. F. K. 

Answer — Your chickens have what 
is called "swell-head" and roup. They 
have either caught it from taking 
cold or from the lice which they used 
to have, or by infection from the 
neighbors. I think probably there is 
a draught in their sleeping quarters, 
from a crack or a knot hole or it 
may be wrong ventilation. Stop 
these up and be sure the chickens do 
not live or sleep in a draught. Rub 
their head with carbolated vaseline, 
and give each of those affected a 
quinine pill every other night for a 
week, and add a little poultry tonic 
to their food. I think as soon as you 
stop whatever may be the cause of 



CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 



157 



their taking cold you will liave no 
further trouble. . Be sure to keep the 
sick fowls away from the bahincc of 
the flock. 



Something in the Throat — It would 
be a great favor to me if you would 
let me know what to do for my chick- 
ens. They are cross-breeds and run on 
open range, where there is plenty of 
good water and green alfalfa and oth- 
er green grass. I have been feeding 
them clean new wheat, all they would 
eat. They are six months old, but 
have commenced to get sick; the first 
was taken sick a week ago; acted like 
it had something caught in the throat; 
opened bill and made a noise, but 
seems to be well now. Another com- 
menced last night; made a noise all 
night like it wanted to crow; is very 
sick, comb very dark, droops the 
head slightly, eyes shut, no watery 
appearance and no lice or other ver- 
min. I have examined its neck and 
cannot see or feel anything like diph- 
theria in mouth or throat; no dis- 
charge from nose; crop empty. — F. P. 
C, Mexico. 

Answer — I think your chicks must 
have got and eaten some seed or 
burrs with beards on them, and this 
has formed an abscess low down in 
their throat, or even in the gizzard. 
Sometimes they stick in the throat. 
After a time they will get dislodged 
and pass through the chick without 
injury, but if they stick in the giz- 
zard, blood poisoning comes on, the 
comb turns black and they die. When 
I was in Oklahoma the tarantulas 
sometimes bit a hen. She would fall 
down paralyzed and act as though she 
were dying. I gave one drop of acon- 
ite in milk, and they always recovered 
under this treatment. Do you think 
your fowls have been stung by centi- 
pedes, etc.? 



Toe Eating — Can you tell me what 
causes little chicks to pick at each 
others toes? They will pick at one 
till the blood comes, then so many 
chase it that it dies. Then they start 
on another and sometimes they even 
cat the entrails out. I bought my 
chickens when they were a week old 
and fed them according to your direc- 
tions. I first fed raw meat and 
cooked, then I tacked pieces on a 
board to keep them busy, but notliing 
seemed to stop them, and I took the 



one out with the sore toes. I gave 
lime and salts and charcoal. I hatched 
some dark colored chicks in my own 
incubator and witii them I have not 
had any trouble in that way. I trust 
that you can help me. — H. L. 

Answer — It is usually with the 
white or light colored chicks that we 
have this trouble. The little toes are 
so attractive and look so very good 
to eat that a lively chick will often try 
to taste his neighbor's toe and it tastes 
so good that he continues the per- 
formance and soon teaches the others. 
Dark toes are not so attractive look- 
ing, hence their immunity. You did 
quite right to add more meat and even 
a little salt pork to their diet, but the 
best way of preventing the trouble is 
to give the chicks chaff at least an 
inch deep in the nursery of their 
brooder. I have found that alfalfa 
hay or wheat hay cut in a clover cut- 
ter an inch in length make very good 
chaff for the chicks. I scatter the 
chick feed a little at a time, three 
times a day in this, and the chicks 
scratch in it and find the grains and 
at the same time it conceals their toes 
from their hungry brothers. In this 
way you not only prevent this vice, 
but you make the chicks scratch many 
hours a day and that broadens their 
backs and develops the egg organs 
and strengthens their digestion, keeps 
them out of mischief, healthy, happy 
and busy. Try this plan and yon will 
be surprised to find what extra fine 
layers you will have next year. 

Tuberculosis — A year ago I had the 
nicest Black Minorcas that anybody 
ever laid eyes on, but, alas! one after 
the other I had to kill. First they get 
lame on one foot, then their combs 
get very dark, almost black on the 
points; their appetite is poor and they 
get as light as a feather, and wlien I 
cut them open tlieir liver almost fills 
up their whole insides, and the whole 
liver is thoroughly sprinkled with lit- 
tle white kernels; sometimes as big as 
a good sized head of a pin, sometimes 
as large as five cents, and I attend to 
them so good. Now, can you tell me 
what disease it is and how to prevent 
it after this? I feed lots of green 
stuff, milk, meat, wheat, barley and 
occasionally a mash of lots of carrots. 
—Mrs. M. R. 

Answer — I am sorry to say your 
Minorcas have chicken tuberculosis. 
You gave an accurate description of 



158 



MRS. BASLEVS WESTERN TOULTRY BOOK 



tlie disease, and I am very sorry to 
have to tell you that there is no cure 
for it when once it has commenced. 
You may be able to prevent the j-oung 
ones catching it by moving them on 
to fresh ground, and thorough!}' dis- 
infecting the yards and coops. 



Vertigo — Being an interested reader 
of your question department, I take 
the liberty of asking you about my 
little chicks. They have a queer dis- 
ease that I never saw before. They 
commence to hold their heads to one 
side, keep twisting their necks until 
the}' fall down and roll over and seem 
in a kind of fit, and then jump up; 
seem better for a while and then go 
through with the same performance 
until they die. They peep as if in 
pain. I have lost several. I feed corn 
bread and sour milk curd and they 
run in the orchard. Do you know 
what it is and is there a cure for it? 
They have no vermin. — Mrs. R. B. L. 

Answer — Your chickens have verti- 
go. This is usually caused by acute in- 
digestion, from wrong feeding, from 
sunstroke, from intestinal worms, 
from poison or from lice. Overcrowd- 
ing the chicks also has a tendency to 
bring it on. I have known of several 
cases similar to yours from the chicks 
having eaten putrid meat. 1 he best 
treatment is a little Epsom salts in the 
water, about a teaspoonful to a pint of 
water. Give this as their drinking wa- 
ter. Give plenty of fresh clean water 
and green food. If you think it is 
worms, put a teaspoonful of turpen- 
tine in a quart of the drinking water 
or mix their mash with it and give it 
also to them to drink. This will kill 
the worms. If you think it is from 
poison, give each chick a pill of asa- 
foetida. about a two-grain pill or even 
smaller if the chickens are very small. 



Tumor and Dropsy — T had a White 
Legliorn hen die a week ago from an 
ailment which puzzles me. Have looked 
thrc~)ugh what poultry books I have, 
but can lind nothing touching it. The 
hen was swollen between the legs to 
an unusual size and got so bad it could 
not walk. Finally it died, and. upon 
opening it, at least a quart of water 
came away. The intestines were joined 
together in one solid piece. Can you 
tell me the cause and cure, as I have 
a Hamburg hen developing the same 



symptoms, and would like to save it if 
possible? — J. L. W. 

Answer — Your hen died of dropsy, 
combined with a tumor, probably ova- 
rian. There is no known cure for this, 
as by the time it becomes visible, the 
disease has progressed too far, and is 
usually only discovered after death. 
Some hens seem more subject to this 
complaint than others, and I would 
advise you to get in fresh blood and 
keep the hens healthy by feeding an 
abundance of green food. The cause 
is obscure. 



Vent Gleet — One of my hens and 
rino, large cockerel have a sort of 
diarrhoea with a very bad smell to it. 
It seems to scald the vent, which is 
red and swollen and there are scabs 
on it. Can you tell me the cause and 
cure of this?— Mrs. J. F. Y. 

Answer — Your hen and probably 
the cockerel also have vent gleet. This 
is usually caused by an egg being 
broken inside the hen, which causes 
inflammation. It is, I am sorry to 
say, contagious, and the birds should 
be at once isolated and treated. Pre- 
pare a warm bath of water as hot as 
can be borne on the wrists, in which 
has been dissolved a tablespoonful of 
bi-carbonate of soda, to two quarts of 
water. Immerse the fowl's abdomen 
and vent in this hot water and hold 
the bird there from fifteen to twenty 
minutes. Then dry the parts with a 
clean cloth and give an injection of 
an infusion of green tea with five 
grains each of sugar of lead and sul- 
phate of zinc to each ounce of the in- 
fusion, two tablespoonsful being one 
ounce. The sores and ulcers around 
the vent should be kept dusted with 
iodoform or aristol. Repeat the treat- 
ment once a day until the bird is 
cured. A dose of thirty grains of 
Epsom's salts will help cool the blood. 
Feed lightly and give plenty of green 
food. If not well after two or three 
weeks, kill the bird, as the disease is 
not quite free from danger, for if the 
operator should touch his eyes acci- 
dentally before cleansing his hands, 
the result might be a most violent in- 
flammation. 

White Comb — My fine Orpington 
rooster is developing a peculiar dis- 
ease. A few months ago he was in 
the pink of perfection, but his comb 
has become all covered with white 



LICE, MITES, TICKS AND WORMS 



159 



spots, as though he had dandrufif, and 
it spoils his appearance. I feed your 
well proportioned mash, wlieat, alfal- 
fa, crushed green bone, lettuce and 
cabbage; a mash every morning and 
corn or wheat for the evening meal. 
He is vigorous and active, the only 
trouble being with his comb. If you 
will kindly tell me how to treat him 
for this trouble, it will be highly ap- 
preciated. — E. R. T. 

Answer — Your rooster lias what is 
called "White comb." It usually comes 
from close air in the hennery and a 
total absence of all green food. It 's .1 
contagious disease and may be im- 
parted from bird to bird, probably 
also from mice, rats, cats and dogs to 
birds. Young birds appear to be more 
susceptible to this disease than old 
ones. Put carbolatcd vaseline on the 
comb, and in the drinking water use 
twelve tablets of nux vomica and sul- 
phur comp. 2X to each pint of drink- 
ing water. Continue the treatment un- 
til cured. 



Wind in Crop — Will you please tell 
me the cause and remedy of my lit- 
tle chicks, from three to four weeks 
old, having a gas gather in their crop? 



When tlie crop is pressed, wind conies 
from the mouth and they stand 
around and gasp, but otherwise do not 
look droopy. They eat well, but in 
three or four days die. I lost quite a 
number last spring, almost every case 
being fatal. 1 have a hen witli young 
ones and I would like to raise them 
without tliis trouble — B. C. 

Answer — -The wind in the crop 
comes from indigestion. Indigestion 
comes from lice, colds, dirty water, 
and chief of all from wet mashes or 
from wrongly balanced food, and lack 
of hard, sharp grit to grind the food. 
I do not think the chicks with the hen, 
if she is allowed free range, will get it, 
but if there are any symptoms of it, 
put some lime water into tlie drinking 
water and give them pounded up char- 
coal. Give them also sweet skim milk 
to drink as well as water and plenty of 
nice, crisp lettuce to eat. I am sure if 
you keep them quite clean, feed clean 
dry chick feed with plenty of green 
lettuce, grass or clover, cut up fine, 
you will not have any wind on the 
stomach with your chicks. A little bi- 
carbonate of soda in the drinking wa- 
ter will sometimes help, but preven- 
tion is the best cure. 



LICE, MITES, TICKS AND WORMS 



Body Lice — I have about 100 White 
Leghorn chickens and I find that they 
have a large body louse, large yellow 
ones; what can I do to get rid of 
them? I think they are keeping my 
chickens from laying as they should. — 
Mrs. B. W. 

Answer — Paint the bottom of a box 
or barrel with a good lice killer; put a 
little straw in to keep the paint from 
the feathers, then put the chickens in 
and cover them three hours. Then 
examine the hens and pull out all the 
feathers that have nits (lice eggs) on 
them, putting the feathers into a little 
can of coal oil. Then dust the hens 
with a good insecticide once a week or 
until you are sure all the lice are dead. 
Be careful to give the hens a spot of 
ground, well spaded up, mellow and a 
little damp. They will bathe in this 
and usually keep themselves clean. 



Dipping Hens — Would you be so 
kind as to let me know about dipping 



hens, etc? I have a flock of some five 
or six hundred. I notice some of them 
have lice and bunches of nits on their 
feathers. Whenever I have caught a 
hen I have greased her well, but this 
would take too long to go tlirough the 
bunch. Is there any dip that would be 
strong enough, and do no harm to the 
birds, that would kill tlie nits with one 
dipping? — W. L. 

Answer — Lice are supposed to 
hatch out the nits every five days, and 
when but a few days' old commence 
to lay again and so keep on breeding 
indefinitely. Dr. Salmon says it has 
been estimated that the second gener- 
ation from a single louse may number 
2500 individuals, and the third genera- 
tions may reach the enormous sum of 
125,000, and all of these may be pro- 
duced in the course of eight weeks. T 
do not know of any dip that will kill 
the nits with one dipping. Dr. Salmon 
recommends a dip of one per cent car- 
bolic acid solution, or using creolin, as 



160 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



it is equally efficious in killing insects 
and is less poison to the birds. It is 
used in the strength of two and a half 
mixed with a gallon of water. I have 
used very successfully in the summer 
time when the weather is warm the 
kerosene emulsion made as follows: 
Dissolve one bar of soap or one pound 
of soap powder in a gallon of boiling 
water; add to it a gallon of coal oil 
and a pint of crude carbolic acid; 
churn for twenty minutes or until you 
wish to use it. Take one quart of this 
top solution and add it to nine quarts 
of water. Dip the hens into this, be- 
ing careful not to allow any of it to 
go into their eyes or mouth, but thor- 
oughly wet every feather to the skin. 
This will kill every living louse and if 
repeated in about five days will prob- 
ably kill those that arc hatched out in 
the meantime and prevent their lay- 
ing any more nits. Tobacco water 
has also been strongly recommended 
as a dip, and chloro-naphtholium used 
as directed on the bottle. 



The Sand Flea — How can I rid my 
chickens from a small insect known 
here as the sand flea? I have tried 
coal oil mixed with lard without effect. 
The hens scratch their heads so they 
become sore and some liave died; oth- 
ers have had to be killed. — Mrs. F. 
A. F. 

Answer — Those fleas are very hard 
to get rid of. Spray the henneries 
well with cither the kerosene emul- 
sion or good hot salt water, and while 
the ground is still wet, scatter on it 
air-slacked lime. Tliose hens that have 
sore heads should have carbolated 
salve put on them, after swabbing 
them off with corrosive sublimate. 
This will kill the fleas and cure the 
sores. Be careful not to let any of 
the corrosive sublimate get into the 
eves or mouth of the fowls. 



Stick Tight Fleas — We have noticed 
a tick or louse on a few of our chick- 
ens and have discovered some of the 
insects on the perches. They resem- 
ble small black beads and are firmly 
imbedded in the skin. On some of the 
fowls we have used for the table we 
noticed a few red blotches on the skin. 
We would like to know liow to get rid 
of the insects, particularlj' how to get 
them out of the hen house. — An In- 
quirer. 



Answer — You have the stick tight 
fleas in your hennery. They are very 
hard to get rid of, being in some 
places a perfect pest. A friend of 
mine lost 500 out of 700 chickens last 
fall from this. I told him to spray 
very thoroughly with salt and water 
and he purchased 600 lbs. of salt, scat- 
tered it all over the hennery and yards 
and then turned the hose on them for 
several days in succession. He tells 
me now there is not a stick tight flea 
on the place. I advised him to get 
some corrosive sublimate diluted with 
alcohol at the drug store, take an old 
tooth brush and carefully apply with 
it the corrosive sublimate on any fleas 
lie might see on the chickens, being 
careful not to allow anj-^ of the solu- 
tion to get into the chickens' eyes (it 
would blind them) or into their 
mouths, as it is very poisonous. You 
can paint the perches with this; it will 
kill everj'thing it touches. 



Head Lice — This time I write in 
desperation, hoping j'ou may be able 
to give me a remedy. It is head lice 
1 am fighting, and after working for 
almost five months, I am as far off 
from being rid of tliem as at first. I 
have done everything that I have ever 
heard of. I still find they have head 
lice and red mites besides. I hope no 
other beginner has had the trials I 
have had.— Mrs. W. F. K. 

Answer — The red mites live in the 
houses or coops, except when thej^ are 
feeding off the chickens, usually at 
night. The cure for them is to spray 
the coops thoroughly and constantly. 
You can keep them out of the coops 
by spraying once every three weeks, 
but if they once get in, you will have 
to spraj' twice a week until you get 
entirely rid of them, then once every 
three weeks, to keep rid of them. The 
head lice live on the heads of the 
chickens. They lay two or three 
white silver}' nits (eggs) at the root 
of the feather. The eggs hatch in 
about five days after they are laid by 
the lice, consequentK^ to completely 
destroy them, you sliould treat the 
chickens that have them at least once 
a week. The best way I know of is 
to take an old tooth brush, a bowl 
with nice hot soapsuds in it and a few 
drops of the best carbolic acid; brush 
the chicken's head with this, being 
sure to touch all the lice and mites. 
This, I know, is an excellent remedy, 



LICE, MITES, TICKS AND WORMS 



161 



for I have tried it. Another given by 
a friend of mine is, get the druggist 
to mix some corrosive sublimate with 
the best pure alcohol, take the tooth 
brush and brush the chickens' heads 
with this, being very careful not to let 
any of this get into the eyes (or it will 
blind them) or into the mouth, as it 
is very poisonous. This will not only 
kill the head lice and their nits, but it 
will also kill stick tigiit fleas, ticks and 
any insects. It is very difficult when 
once the pests get into henneries or 
on chickens to get rid of them. It is 
far easier to keep the enemy out by 
constant and thorough cleaning at fre- 
quent intervals, especially in the sum- 
mer time. I find using tobacco stems 
for making the nests of setting hens a 
good preventative; besides this, I see 
tliat all tlie fowls have good dust 
batlis in damp and mellow earth. 



Hump Themselves — I will have to 
come to you with my sick chickens. 
It seems to be chicken raisers' only 
refuge. I have lost several half-grown 
and whole-grown. They kind of hump 
themselves all together, do not care to 
eat; do not stir around. I never no- 
ticed any bowel trouble; it looks to 
me like their heads turned dark; live 
several days. What shall I do? — 
L. H. E. 

Answer — It is very difficult to diag- 
nose a case like yours with so little in- 
formation about it, but from your de- 
scription of the chickens humping 
themselves and appearing sleepy, I 
think they have worms. You should 
open one and make a thorough exam- 
ination; then you will know what 
really is the matter. If it is worms, 
give them thirty drops of turpentine 
in a pint of water. Let them have no 
other water to drink for a week, and 
I think it will cure them. Possibly 
they may be taking cold and very 
probably may have lice. Examine 
them and dust them, and try to dis- 
cover what is giving them cold. Give 
them a little poultry tonic and follow 
my directions for the general care of 
fowls. 



ever. He uses lime, sulphur and car- 
bolic acid. Is there any way corrosive 
sublimate could be used as a spray, 
and would it be safe for the hens in 
the houses? How long would the hens 
need to be kept out after the spraying 
was done? Am having the worst pos- 
sible luck with my chickens. Have 
probably hatched 550 chickens this 
year and have less than 200 now. 
When a week to ten days old they 
begin to droop, refuse to eat and 
starve to death. What is the matter? 
No bowel trouble; no cold; no lice, or 
only a few. Does cholera ever attack 
such young chickens, and if cholera, 
would they not have bowel trouble? 
Would greatly appreciate an immedi- 
ate answer, as the mites get all over 
me and drive me nearly frantic — Per- 
plexed. 

Answer — Tlic thing that is killing 
your little chickens is not cholera, 
otherwise they would have bowel 
trouble; it is only the swarms of 
mites. If they drive you nearly fran- 
tic, think how the chicks must suffer. 
The mites simply drain the life out 
of them. The corrosive sublimate can 
be put on with a spray, but it is dan- 
gerous to do so, as if it splatters into 
the person's eyes who is spraying, it 
may blind him for life. One pound of 
this costs $1.25 and that is sufficient to 
make 120 gallons of the solution. As 
it takes some time to dissolve in wa- 
ter, it is usual to dissolve it in alcohol. 
I have used it dissolved in alcohol to 
paint henneries and nest boxes, and 
it will destroy all insect life. You 
must turn the hens out of your hen- 
neries for several hours, or until the 
walls arc dry. 



Mites — We are fighting mites, but 
apparently with no success. Wc hired 
a man who makes poultry ranch 
spraying a business. We paid him $10 
and he guaranteed to rid the place of 
the pests, but they are worse than 



Flea Powder— Mrs. C. B. F., Los 
Gatos — I do not think the "flea pow- 
der" you mention would kill the little 
turkeys, but as you ask what I use, I 
will tell you. It is here called "Buh- 
ach," and can be bought at any of the 
poultry supply houses. It is made 
from the "Pyrretlirum " daisy and is 
perfectly harmless to all fowls, from 
tiny canaries to mammoth turkeys, 
but deadly to insects. It contains a 
small quantity of an essential oil 
which asphyxiates all insects, fleas, 
ants, lice. etc. It must be kept in 
an air-tight jar or tin box, as the es- 
sential oil easily evaporates. Next in 
value come the insect powders, the 
foundation of which is tobacco dust. 



162 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



The kind of lice that are so deadly 
to little turkeys are the same as the 
head lice of chickens. They are to be 
found on the heads and necks of the 
turkeys, and also on the large feath- 
ers at the edge of the wing. They 
seem to sap the life out of the turkeys. 
I always rub the "Buhach" powder 
well into the down on the head and 
at the roots of the wing feathers, 
whether they have signs of lice or not, 
for it is better to be sure than sorry. 



Ticks — In trouble again. We are 
renting a place until we can build on 
our own, and every building on it is 
simply alive with little brown ticks; 
they bury themselves in the heads of 
the chickens, the ears of the dogs, the 
feet of the animals and all over our 
bodies. What shall I do? Please tell 
me and tell me quick. A neighbor 
says lard and carbolic acid on their 
heads and spray with distillate, but 
neither seems to do any good so far. 
I am out of the chicken business since 
moving here, except a few for our 
own use. Yours sincerely, J. J. W. 

Answer — The easiest way to get rid 
of them is to pour coal oil over the 
buildings and then set fire to them, 
but as you are in a rented place, that 
would scarcely be possible. The next 
best plan is to paint the place thor- 
oughly with corrosive sublimate; it is 
what I recommended to you for the 
plague of mites at your other place. 
Ticks are one of the worst plagues in 
Southern California. They are so thin 
and flat that they hide between the 
shingles and boards. They really are 
no thicker than a bit of paper, and 
nothing kills them but the corrosive 
sublimate (bi-chloride of mercury). 
This can either be put on with a brush 
or be sprayed on the houses. You 
remember that it is very poisonous 
and great care must be used in hand- 
ling it. When once your coops are 
free of ticks, or other vermin, you can 
keep them so by spraying with kero- 
sine emulsion that I have so often 
given. Distillate, liquid lice killer, 
coal tar and other preparations of car- 
bolic acid or creosote are all good to 
keep out vermin, but I know they 
will not drive out ticks. 



Depluming Mites — Two years ago I 
started to raise White Leghorns, com- 
mencing with two cocks and twelve 
pullets of as good strain as I could 



secure at the time. This spring I had 
a splendid looking flock of 100 females 
and twelve males. They were beau- 
ties, but recently developed the feath- 
er pulling habit and are now a sight. 
Never in moulting time have I seen 
poultry look worse. Many of the hens 
look as though plucked for market, 
and not one of the roosters has a ves- 
tige of tail. The hens still keep up 
laying as well as before (from fifty to 
sixty-five daily), but I cannot believe 
this will hold out in their present con- 
dition. 

I have them on a two-acre range 
and feed them cut green bone in large 
quantities four times a week in addi- 
tion to all the other grains obtainable. 
My experience can only suggest two 
causes for such a state of affairs:! — 
Insufficient animal food. 2 — Close 
confinement. But neither of these 
causes enter into the present state of 
affairs. Can you advance a reason and 
suggest a remedy. By so doing you 
will greatly oblige one who is getting 
interested in raising fine looking birds. 
— F. S. S., Tucson, Ariz. 

Answer — Your birds have what is 
called "Depluming mites." The prin- 
cipal symptom of this trouble is a loss 
of feathers from spots of various sizes, 
situated on different parts of the body. 
The feathers break off at the surface 
of the skin, and at the root of the 
feather is seen a small mass of epi- 
dermic scales which is easily crushed 
into powder. A microscopic examina- 
tion of this powder reveals numerous 
mites and the debris which they pro- 
duce. 

The disease appears in poultry 
yards as a consequence of the intro- 
duction of one or more birds already 
affected. It is readily communicated, 
develops rapidly and in a few days a 
whole flock is contaminated. It us- 
ually begins on the rump and spreads 
rapidly to the back, the thighs and the 
belly. An infested cock will rapidly 
infest all the fowls in a poultry yard. 
Often the head and the upper surface 
of the neck are affected early in the 
course of the disease. The feathers 
fall off at all these points and finally 
the skin is denuded over a large ex- 
tent of surface. The large feathers of 
the tail and wings and the wing cov- 
erts are generally retained. 

The denuded skin presents a normal 
appearance; it is smooth and soft, of a 
pinkish color and not perceptibly 



LICE, MITES, TICKS AND WORMS 



163 



thickened. By pulling out the feath- 
ers which remain near the invaded 
parts, it is easy to find, with fowls, a 
mass of epidermic scales at the end 
of the quill, which contains a number 
of parasites. The general health of 
the birds is apparently not disturbed. 
They remain in good flesh and con- 
tinue to lay as though they were not 
affected. It seems probable that much 
of the irregular moulting, feather 
pulling and feather eating are due to 
the irritation caused by the Sacroptes 
Laevis. 

The treatment for this is not very 
diflficult, but must be persisted in until 
a cure is effected. Carbolic salve 
should be rubbed over the affected 
portions of the skin and the adjacent 
parts, or a salve may be made by mix- 
ing one part of carbolic salve, one part 
of flour of sulphur, one part of pow- 
dered aloes with ten parts of lard or 
vaseline. 

A large surface of the body should 
not be covered with strong carbolic 
acid preparations, on account of the 
danger of absorption and poisoning. 
The affected parts of the body may 
be rubbed every fourth day until a 
cure is affected. It is well to finish 
the treatment bj' dipping the birds in 
a two per cent creoline bath and to 
whitewash the houses with carbolated 
whitewash. This will kill any mites 
which may be left in the feathers or 
about the roosts. 



From Wild Birds — Some years ago 
my fowls became afflicted with a 
round worm, also tape worms, and in 
one article you mentioned several 
remedies, such as santoine, turpen- 
tine and tincture of male fern. I dug 
up the yards and seeded to green feed 
but all to no purpose; it has prac- 
tically driven me out of business. Last 
spring I invested in some outside 
stock (just hatched baby chicks), but 
they also became infested, although 
they were on new land. However, I 
managed to keep down those pests 
by occasionally dosing the hens with 
the above mentioned medicines. We 
do not feed anything unclean to our 
fowls and it always has been a puzzle 
to me where such worms came from. 

A few days ago our house cat 
brought home a small bird, which she 
began to devour on the house porch, 
but leaving the intestines, out of 
which crawled two good sized round 



worms such as fowls have. As we 
live in the woods, do you think this 
has anything to do with it? I am al- 
most afraid to start my incubators 
this season, as it may only result in 
future failure. — W. E. B. 

Answer — Your fowls undoubtedly 
get the worms as the wild birds do, 
from the droppings or eggs of worms 
from the other birds. By the persist- 
ent use of turpentine, using thirty 
drops in a quart of water, or mixing 
it in that proportion in the food, for 
a week at a time, you can get rid of 
them. Also disinfect the ground. 
The only thing that I can see is for 
you to keep up this treatment, for 
a week every two months, giving tur- 
pentine either in the food or water. 
I would not be discouraged because 
that is a sure remedy and by watch- 
ing and noticing the droppings, you 
need not fail in rearing the chickens. 



From Pigeons — My chickens' giz- 
zards are affected by red worms about 
the size of a pin. All the stock I 
raised last year seemed affected, al- 
though the eggs came from different 
places. I have the Brown Leghorns, 
Brahmas and R. I. Reds. I feed all 
the various grains, plenty of greens 
and good meat and bone. The only 
thing you recommend that I have not 
fed is charcoal, still as chicks they 
got it in the chick feed. I have given 
them turpentine in food and water at 
various times and it seemed to have 
the desired result, but today I learned 
different, the gizzard is penetrated 
and has a sore spot caused by these 
worms. All the stock in different 
yards are affected. 

I get plenty of eggs and the chick- 
ens look good, combs nice and red, 
nevertheless I find them all affected 
the same way. — Mrs. G. S. L. 

Answer — I have been through the 
same trouble myself and so can help 
you. The difficulty is to find the 
source. I found out that my chickens 
were getting the worms or the eggs 
of the worms from neighboring pig- 
eons. The droppings of the pigeons 
contained the eggs of the worms and 
in a short time the droppings of the 
chickens also had them and the other 
chickens ate them and so on they 
kept increasing. First of all I gave 
the chickens the turpentine which I 
recommended to you. A teaspoonful 



164 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



in a quart of water. Mix the food 
with that water, also put a teaspoon- 
ful in a quart of the drinking water 
and allow no other water for drink- 
ing. Keep this treatment up for a 
week. Meanwhile clean up the yards 
hy having them either ploughed un- 
der or dug up and a crop of some 
kind planted, something that will 
grow (juickly, such as wheat or har- 
ley, and as far as possible destroy 
the liirds that are bringing you the 
trouble, for T cannot but think it must 
be pigeons or some other wild l)irds. 
The worms will kill the young chick- 
ens, but they do not always kill the 
older fowls. Sometimes the worms 
come from unclean or spoiled food, 
from "webby" grains and bad animal 
food. You will have to discover for 
yourself where they are getting the 
worms from and cut off the source of 
supply. 



Intestinal Worms — I wish a little 
inforiiialion and advice in regard to 
a valual)le Buff' Orpington cockerel I 
own. lie has become mopy and goes 
away under the trees by himself, and 
has lost over half of his weight in a 
month. He eats like a horse, though, 
of everything I give my hens, but 
shakes his head an awful lot, as 
though something was wrong. I 
looked in his throat and it looks all 
right. He has changed in color from 
a light buff to a very dark red since 
acting unwell, and has grown to be a 
homely, dopey bird, from a real beau- 
tiful livclv one a short time ago. — 
M. J. Q. ■ 

Answer — I think your Buff Orping- 
ton cockerel has intestinal worms. 
You had better give him 25 drops of 
spirits of turpentine on a lump of 
bread, or in a spoonful of water, and 
follow that immediately with two tea- 
spoonfuls of castor oil. Keep him 
shut up so you can watch the drop- 
pings and remove and burn or bury 
them deeply. If you do not find 
worms in his droppings, give him ten 
drops of tincture of male-fern on a 
lump of sugar, followed in an hour 
1)}^ a dose of castor oil. This is for 
tape worms. Both the remedies 
should be given after twelve hours or 
more fasting. 



noticed what look like worms. She 
is thin and looks like she has catarrh. 
Can you help her? Also a Plymouth 
Rock rooster who has a film over his 
eyes and sleeps all day, begins to take 
exercise about sun down; appetite 
fair. I feed every variety of chicken 
food alternating, and keep shells, 
charcoal and green food, and they arc 
not fenced in. — J. L. 

Answer — -Your little bantam hen 
inidoubtedly has worms, as you see 
them in her droppings. Your Ply- 
mouth Rock male bird also has them, 
for sleepiness is one of the chief 
symptoms of worms in the intestines. 
The best cure I know is turpentine; 
ten drops in a teaspoonful of castor 
oil, after the chickens have fasted 
twenty-four hours. 

If you have other chickens, and 
think they may have worms, you had 
better give the whole flock some tur- 
pentine in their drinking water. 
Thirty drops of turpentine to a pint of 
water. Do not let them have any 
water without turpentine in it for a 
week. 



Bantam Affected — I have a little 
hen, bantam, in whose droppings I 



Several Kinds — I am in despair and 
it is lice, lice, lice. We Iiave Brown 
Leghorns, and as they will not sit, we 
l)orrowed a setting hen and she only 
stayed with us long enough to give 
our hens a supply of grey head-lice. 
When we discovered them we went 
to work with a lice killer, sprayed the 
coops, ground and nests, put the 
cliickcns in a box and left them three 
hours. We also used crude oil, 
poured gallons on the ground, painted 
nests, roosts, etc., but still the lice 
stayed on the hens' heads. Last 
week we bought six Buff Orpingtons; 
yesterday we found they were alive 
with body lice, yellow lice, especially 
around the vent; there were thou- 
sands; then we examined the Leg- 
horns, found they were infected also. 
What shall we do? Do you think it 
would hurt them to wash tlicm now 
with the kerosene emulsion? Am 
afraid it might give them a cold. — 
Mrs. C. S. B. 

Answer — What I should do were I 
in your place would be to get some 
Buhach powder, rub it well into the 
chickens' heads for the head lice, and 
well into the fluff under the wings and 
on the backs for the body lice, then 
put the hens, six or a dozen at a time. 



LICE, MITES, TICKS AND WORMS 



165 



into a large size dry-goods box, at 
the bottom of which is a newspaper 
thoroughly painted with a good lice 
killer; cover tho top of the box with 
a carpet and leave them in for three 
hours, then look them over thorough- 
ly and pull out every feather that has 
nits on it. The nits hatch out about 
every five days, so in a week's time 
look the hens over again, powder 
them again, and again put them into 
the box painted with the lice killer. 
Two applications should cure them. 
After this, once a month, at night, 
powder them with bubach and look 
them over occasionally, and if neces- 
sary, go through the performance 
again. You can paint the roosts with 
lice killer, but do not put any in the 
nests, for it will not only flavor the 
eggs, but will kill the germs and make 
the eggs unhatchable. The best thing 
to use for the nests is a kettleful of 
boiling water with a large handful of 
salt added to it, or scalding soap- 
suds, putting in fresh straw, or better 
still, making the nests of tobacco 
stems. You can get these for 25 cents 
a gunny sack full. 



Spray for Houses and Dip for Hens 

— Last suninur 1 found a rcciijc in one 
of your articles for spraying hen 
houses. I used it to good advantage, 
but have misplaced the recipe and 
cannot remember the mixture exact- 



ly. It was composed of coal oil, car- 
bolic acid and soap, with a certain 
proportion of water. If you will 
kindly send it to me, I will appreciate 
it.— C. W. 

Answer — I gladly send you the re- 
cipe, which is excellent. I have used 
it for ten years or more. It will kill 
fleas, lice, mites or any insect pests in 
the henneries. It will also thorough- 
ly disinfect the premises from infec- 
tious diseases and if used for a dip 
for hens in warm, sunny weather, will 
rid them of lice and will assist the 
moult: 

Dissolve one pound of hard soap 
(or soap powder) in one gallon of 
boiling water, remove from the fire 
and add immediately one gallon of 
kerosene and one pint of crude car- 
bolic acid. Churn or agitate violent- 
ly for twenty minutes or until you 
want to use it. If the oil and water 
separate on standing, then the soap 
was not caustic enough. Add to this 
ten gallons of water. 

I keep the stock solution on hand, 
dip out a quart and add to it ten 
quarts of water and use it for spray- 
ing the houses once every three weeks 
in summer and every month in win- 
ter. Putting it on hot in summer and 
slopping it well into dark and dusty 
corners will kill fleas, which are ex- 
ceedingly troublesome on sandy soil 
in this part of the country. 



FEEDING IN GENERAL 



Feeding System — I am not perfectly 
satisfied witli my feeding system and I 
follow yours on the food question. I 
note that you advise dried blood and 
other food dried in the oven, green cut 
bone and bone meal. Would you ad- 
vise boiled liver, lungs and scraps in- 
stead of prepared meat scraps? Are 
ground clam shells good in place of 
cut bone? Could there be any danger 
from feeding too much ground shell? 
Should gravel be furnished to chick- 
ens to pick from? — D. F. 

Answer — Roiled liver and lungs 
chopped fine are excellent for fowls. 
I prefer them to prepared meat scraps. 
They must be fed while fresh, as 
spoiled meat may poison the fowls. 
Clam shells cannot take the place of 
cut bone. Crushed oyster and clam 
shells contain lime, which is very good 



for making egg shell. There is no 
danger of the hens eating too much of 
this. Gravel or grit should always be 
furnished to chickens. 



Animal Food for Fowls — Kindly in- 
form me as to the difference, if any, 
between beef scraps, beef meal, meat 
meal and blood meal. Which is con- 
sidered the best to feed laying hens 
and growing chickens? I have fed 
beef scraps for nearly a year and had 
good results from it; at least I think 
I have. If some of the others are 
better, I would like to know what one 
it is.— G. K. W. 

Answer — Beef scraps, beef meal and 
meat meal are the same, only the lat- 
ter is ground finer than the former. 
Blood meal is made from the blood, 



166 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



cooked, dried and ground. Pure dried 
l)K)od contains more protein than the 
others, therefore is considered better 
in most cases. The beef scraps and 
beef meal are the refuse of the slaugh- 
terhouses, heads, lights, etc., boiled 
down or cooked with steam, pressed, 
dried and ground, and are frequently 
called tankage. 

If you have a good brand, keep to it, 
because some are no good, and if al- 
lowed to become damp or heated are 
injurious to the chickens. 



Bad Meat — I had twelve laying 
liens, they averaged seven eggs a day, 
were health}' and never were sick un- 
til I bought five cents' worth of green 
ground bone from a wagon that passes 
my door. It was wet and slimy, and 
smelled, but he said it was all right. I 
gave it to the chickens at noon; fed 
them nothing else then. At four 
o'clock I went out and found two dy- 
ing and six more droopy and by eight 
that night had lost eight. Next day 
two large BufT Orpington hens died. 
I looked for some of j'our remedies 
giving asafoetida pills and the soda 
you spoke of in the water. I showed 
the bones to the butcher, and he said 
he never heard of such a thing as 
spoiled meat poisoning chickens. He 
sold it when it smelled like that all 
the time. — Mrs. D. M. 

Answer — That meat poisoned your 
chickens evidently. It is called pto- 
maine poisoning. Butchers sometimes 
put formaline or some preservative on 
the meat, which has a verj'^ poisonous 
effect on chickens, but yours were un- 
doubtedly poisoned by the putrid 
meat. You had better not buy any 
ground bone unless it is quite fresh. 

Blood Meal — Will you please tell 
me how much blood meal to put into 
the mash for tliirteen chickens, or in 
other words, what proportion for each 
hen?— L. S. 

Answer — Half an ounce per hen ev- 
ery day at this spring season of the 
year is about what they need of blood 
meal mixed in the mash. Weigh out 
enough for the thirteen hens and 
measure that in a cup or by a spoon, 
then you will know how much by 
measure. 



ducks? Also for fowls and turkeys? 
Are they as nourishing as alfalfa? 
My hens are not laying well. The 
eggs have suddenly dropped off, and 
I did not know but what the cause 
might be beet tops. — J. S. Y. 

Answer — In September one is glad 
to get anything green for the fowls, 
ducks, geese or turkeys, to eat. Al- 
most anything green is better than 
nothing, but alfalfa contains more 
protein than any other green food 
except white clover. The per cent 
of protein in white clover is 15.7, and 
in alfalfa 14.30, while in beet tops it 
is only 1.3. By tliis you will see that 
alfalfa is worth about 14 times as 
much as beet tops. There is about as 
much protein in alfalfa as in wheat 
bran. You complain that your hens 
do not lay. I think probably they 
are moulting. You cannot expect 
hens to lay all the time without tak- 
ing a rest. 



Dry Hopper Method — I write you 
regarding the dry hopper method of 
feeding. How much space do you 
leave at the bottom for the feed to 
come through, and how wide do you 
leave the space for the chickens to 
eat out of? We made one, but it is not 
a success, for the box is bloody from 
their combs hitting against it. They 
stand and eat all the time and do not 
go and drink as you saj^ j'ours do. — 
D. S. M. 

Answer — I had the same experience 
with hoppers injuring the combs of 
the fowls, and now I make my hop- 
pers like those used at the Maine 
Experiment Station, simply a box 
with a roof over it. The box is twen- 
t3'-four inches long and eleven inches 
wide. The sides are cut like a gable, 
the highest point being sixteen inches 
high. The gable roof keeps the food 
dry and the hens waste scarcely any 
of it. The roof lift; off cr (.•.tn be slid 
back to fill it. 



Beet Tops — Will you kindly tell me 
if beet tops are a good green food for 



Dry Mash — Will you kindly inform 
me as to the best method of feeding 
calfalfa meal to hens and pullets? I 
use hopper constantly filled with dry 
mash consisting of bran, shorts, feed 
meal and beef scraps, accessible at 
all times, and would much prefer add- 
ing the calfalfa to this. Or would 
you advise soaking it in water and 
feeding it separately? The fowls get 
grain twice a day and now if I add 



FEEDING TN GENERAL 



167 



the calfalfa to the mash what propor- 
tion shall I make it? Also, is it as 
well to add the charcoal, two or three 
per cent, to the mash or feed separ- 
ately? I wish to simplify the routine 
work as much as possible.- — Mrs. O. K. 

Answer — I advocate adding the cal- 
falfa meal to the dry mash. It would 
make a very good ration to simply 
add one part of calfalfa meal to your 
present mash, making it one part 
each of bran, shorts, feed meal, beef 
scraps and calfalfa meal. I feed this 
with excellent results, but at first the 
hens did not like the calfalfa, so I 
only added one iron spoonful, in- 
creasing the dose every day, adding 
one more spoonful until, within a 
month, they were having the right 
proportion. You can mix the char- 
coal in the same way, but I prefer to 
keep it separate with the grit and 
the crushed shell. 



Exercise for Fowls — I was greatly 
interested in an article of yours on 
feeding. You say give a hen a chance 
to work and no matter how fat, etc. 
Now what interests me most to know 
is just how you manage to give them 
plenty of work in a limited space. 
We, who occupy only a village lot, 
will be greatly helped if you will 
tell us how to keep hens busy in such 
limited quarters. — G. P. C. 

Answer — To keep hens busy, give 
them what is called a "scratching 
pen." Put a 12-inch board across one 
corner of your lot and fill that full of 
good wheat straw or hay; scatter all 
the grain you feed in that, and the 
hens will work all day digging out 
the grain; every grain they scratch 
out they will bury two, and so will 
keep up the exercise. If you are 
feeding the hopper method, put the 
hopper at one end of the pen and 
tlie water vessel at the other end; 
this will give them the exercise of 
walking back and forth. You can 
also hang up a cabbage for them to 
jump at, but scratching is the natural 
and best exercise for developing the 
egg organs. 



beginners know what a good balanced 
ration is. We are just as apt to over- 
feed as to under-feed. Would you 
kindly give me formula for a good 
egg ration? In giving ration, kindly 
state quantities of each kind of feed 
used in ration, amount to be fed to 
twelve hens, whether to be fed wet 
or dry, morning or night; also amount 
of grain for twelve hens; in other 
words, a full day's egg ration for 
twelve hens; when to feed, how to 
feed and quantity for daily ration. I 
have some White Plymouth Rocks, 
over eight months old, large and well 
developed, but only two of them have 
commenced to lay. I feed morning 
mash of 2 parts bran, 1 shorts, 1 bar- 
ley meal, 1 cornmeal, 1 alfalfa meal, 
^2 blood meal. Wheat at night, about 
\]/2 pints for twelve hens; good clean 
yards and houses; fresh cut kale at 
noon. — W. S. F. 

Answer — The ration you are now 
feeding is a very good one, but at this 
time of the year (early spring), I would 
advise you to double the amount of 
blood-meal in the mash. I would feed 
the mash perfectly dry, without mois- 
tening it in the least, in the morning; 
the green feed at noon, and the wheat 
at night, or I would reverse it, feeding 
the wheat in the scratching pen in the 
morning, green food at noon, and the 
mash slightly dampened with table 
scraps you may have, at night, giving 
the hens at their supper time what 
they will eat up clean. Pullets that 
are ready to lay will sometimes retain 
their eggs if they do not have com- 
fortable nests; also sometimes they 
require a slight shock or stimulants 
to start they laying. I find chili 
pepper seeds excellent for starting 
the laying, or failing to get this, a 
teaspoonful of red pepper three times 
a week for a dozen hens, will often 
start them laying. The ration you 
are feeding, if you add more blood 
meal (or animal food) is a well bal- 
anced ration for eggs. 



Ration for Twelve Hens — I take 
great pleasure in reading your ar- 
ticles. One thing I have failed to 
find and that is a good balanced ra- 
tion; many writers say, feed a good 
balanced ration, but few of us new 



Tomatoes — Do tomatoes tend to 
make tlic hens quit laying? — J. W. 

Answer— Tomatoes will not do the 
hens any harm unless fed in very 
large quantities. There is not much 
nourishment to them and consequent- 
ly they will not improve the laying 
qualities; otherwise a reasonable 
amount will benefit the hens. 



168 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTKRN POULTRY BOOK 



Formula for Feeding — Your formu- 
la for feeding — two parts bran, one 
part cornmeal, one part alfalfa meal, 
one part shorts, one part beef scraps 
- — ^is the simplest I have ever seen, so 
shall try it. 

1. Will the same formula hold 
good with hens with free range but 
no green food? 

2. In case they have access to 
fresh alfalfa hay, would it be neces- 
sary to use tiie alfalfa meal? 

3. Could I substitute shorts or 
middlings for the meal in case they 
are cheaper, and if so, in what pro- 
portion? 

4. Does the l)alanced ration keep 
up the egg yield during moulting or 
is it necessary to add oil meal or some 
similar meal during tliat period? — 
Mrs. G. 11. G. 

Answer — The same formula is good 
for hens with no green food, but it is 
nuich better to give them green food, 
or roots, beets, turnips, carrots, 
pumpkins, or some succulent vege- 
tal)le if possible. 

2. No, not absolutely necessary, 
but I always continue the alfalfa meal 
so the hens may not forget the taste 
of it, as it is sometimes difficult to 
break them into the habit of eating it. 

3. You could not substitute shorts 
or midiUings for it. 

4. During the moult, add oil-meal 
or linseed meal, about one-fourth of 
one part, to the feed. Tiiis ripens the 
feathers, makes them fall out easier 
and grow more quickly. 



For Young and Old Stock — I am 

very much interested in your articles 
and would like to ask you for a little 
advice. Being away from home all 
day, I have to feed in the morning 
enough to do all day. This I can 
manage for the old stock by feeding 
scratch food in the litter and dry mash 
in hoppers. But how can I manage 
tlie growing stock? Please give a 
formula for dry feed. Do you con- 
sider the scratch food sold by the 
poultry houses good food for the 
young stock? My chicks will not eat 
tlie baby chick food after a week or 
ten days. I also give them lawn clip- 
pings or lettuce every evening. 

Is a handful of scratch feed to the 
hen once a day enough where they 
have the dry mash and table scraps? 
Is cracked corn good food to feed 



alone to young stock? I have Rhode 
Island Reds.— R. L. P. 

Answer — Your questions relate 
principally to the feeding of the 
young stock, and you do not say 
whether you want to keep them for 
fattening for the table or for future 
egg layers. There is of course a dif- 
ference in the way of feeding, or 
rather in the quality of the food to 
be given to them. However, I will 
tell you the w%-iy I feed for egg laying. 
As soon as I think the little chicks 
will eat whole wheat, I add it to the 
l)aby chick feed, a small quantity. If 
tiiey pick it up quickly I add more 
each daj\ and in a few days I give also 
some kaffir corn or finely cracked 
corn. It should be finely cracked, as 
it is difficult of digestion. When it 
is too long in digesting, the corn 
ferments in the gizzard and that gives 
the chick diarrhoea, which often 
proves fatal. We never want to over- 
tax the digestion of a chick, so I give 
corn carefully. This applies to the 
last (luestion in your letter — -it is not 
good to feed corn alone. It has been 
clearly proven that chicks do better, 
grow more quickly and mature ear- 
lier if they can have a great variety 
of seeds to eat. This is the reason 
we prefer to buy the chick feed al- 
ready mixed from the supply houses. 
They have greater facilities for get- 
ting a variety of grains than we have. 

Wlien the young stock is old 
enough to eat the wheat and kaffir 
corn, they can be fed as j^ou do the 
old hens, only remember to give them 
nice, clean litter to scratch in. It 
will need renewing oftener than that 
of the old hens, for if it gets foul and 
they pick up some of their own drop- 
pings, you will soon have a set of 
sick cliickens. Feed the grains in the 
scratching pen to the little chicks, and 
also give them in a hopper bran, al- 
falfa meal, corn meal, ground bone 
and either granulated milk or dried 
blood in equal proportions. The lit- 
tle chicks will prefer the grains in the 
scratching pen and eat those the first, 
wliich is just what they want, but if 
the}' are hungry tliey will go to the 
hopper. Most of the poultry supply 
houses now make an excellent scratch 
feed; they realize the need of it and 
are able to mix it scientifically. I al- 
ways bu3' from them, and if I think 
there is too much corn and that my 
fowls will become too fat, I say. 



FEEDING IN GENERAL 



169 



"Please economize the corn." You 
will find most of the poultry supply 
houses willing to. mix the scratch food 
just as you want it. You are feeding 
the mature stock all right. One hand- 
ful of the scratch food in the litter is 
about right for the hens. The green 
food is quite important, the lawn clip- 
pings should be of clover or as much 
clover as possible, for the blue grass 
becomes so hard and stiff as the sum- 
mer continues that there is not much 
nourishment in it and the hens will 
not cat it. Lettuce is good but is 
sometimes quite expensive and diffi- 
cult to get, but there is another green 
food that has been found excellent 
and is within the reach of any one. 
This is sprouted oats. Take half a 
bucket of oats, pour warm water on 
them and leave them covered all 
night, then spread them in boxes. 
Any box will do. Have the oats 
about two inches deep and keep them 
damp. In four or five days there 
will be a mass of tender green 
sprouts. The hens will eat eagerly 
of this. A friend of mine has also 
done this with barley for many years 
with great success. This green food 
is as good for the young stock as for 
the old. 

In your place I would feed as you 
do, throwing scratch food (a handful 
to each fowl) in the litter in the 
early morning, keeping the dry mash 
in the hopper, and feed the green 
food in the evening. Some of it may 
be left till morning, but will not wilt 
much, and they will eat it the first 
thing. Be sure they have plenty of 
water and have it shaded from the 
sun, either in a box on its side or in 
some sort of shelter. 



Mixing Foods — I want to ask you 
if there is any good reason for not 
mixing foods at the same meal. Prof. 
Jaffa of the U. C. said on one occa- 
sion that it was best not to mix foods 
— in feeding wheat, to feed that alone; 
the same of barley or of corn. Make 
either an entire meal. I have ob- 
served in feeding my chickens that 
they seem to enjoy a variety of grains 
fed together. Which method would 
you think best? 

I am feeding rolled barley dry. 
Would you think it better to soak it? 
I give the mash at noon, dry, and 
green feed morning and evening. The 



fowls seem to like the green feed 
better at those times than at noon. 

Would you set eggs from well 
grown White Minorca pullets that 
are now nearly eight months old? 
They are now with a rooster of the 
same age; or if not now, would it 
be safe to set them after they are 
nine months old? — G. S. II. 

Answer — The reason Professor 
Jaffa thinks it best not to mix foods 
is because some hens will pick out all 
of a certain grain in a greedy man- 
ner, and by giving only one grain at 
a time, they are forced to eat what 
he chooses to giVe them. I would 
not venture to differ from so learned 
a man, but like you, I notice my hens 
enjoy a variety, so I give it to them, 
and for the little chicks I am posi- 
tive a great variety is by far the best 
for them. I found that the hens en- 
joyed an occasional feed of soaked 
barley, so I poured scalding water 
over a few pailsful of barley, covering 
it with gunny sacks to keep in the 
steam and when thoroughly soaked, 
fed it to the hens. 

I would not set eggs from such 
young pullets. I would wait until 
they arc nine or ten months of age; 
especially as they are mated with a 
cockerel of their own age. The off- 
spring of immature fowls is often 
weakly and delicate. I have found it 
much more satisfactory to hatch only 
from two-year-old birds. Then you 
have the foundation of a vigorous 
flock of fowls, and I never hatch 
from Mediterraneans of less than a 
year. It really pays better and is 
much less anxious work having only 
vigorous chickens, chickens that can- 
not help but grow and develop as we 
want them. 



How Much to Feed — Can you tell 
me how much feed an average Leg- 
horn should have in weight with a 
free range of two acres of alfalfa? 
Is green ground bone necessary all 
the year round or only in the winter? 
My hens will not lay and I may not 
be feeding right, although a few 
Wyandottes I have are too fat, but 
they get exactly the same food as the 
Leghorns. I have 72 hens and only 
got 12 eggs yesterday. Am not satis- 
fied with the results and desire to 
have them do better. 

Answer — An average Leghorn hen 
should have in weight for every 



170 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY ROOK 



pound wciglit of hen an ounce of 
food. As Leghorns weigh about five 
pounds each, tliey would require 
about five ounces of food each per 
day. Animal food of some kind is 
necessary for hens if you want them 
to lay. If you can give them milk 
in large quantities, that will give 
tliem all tiie animal food necessary. 
Green ground bone is, of course, the 
best food, but it is very difficult to 
keep it fresh and sweet in the sum- 
mer time, therefore dried bone and 
dried blood, or beef scrap or milk 
must take the place. A hen requires 
about half an ounce of green ground 
bone every day or of the dry stuff 
(bone and blood) half an ounce every 
other day. If the fowls have plenty 
of green food and are not laying well, 
give them more animal food. Per- 
haps your Leghorns are two years 
old. in wliich case you had better get 
younger fowls, as their days of great- 
est usefulness are over. 



I)()naceous food than hens, and I am 
afraid if you increase the corn, be- 
fore you want to fatten them for the 
market, you will have liver trouble in 
the flock. Be very careful how you 
increase the corn or corn meal. 



Feeding for Market — What shall we 
feed ycunig cockerels to prepare them 
for market? 

Our turkey hens are still laying. 
Will they lay next year in time for 
hatching season, say January or Feb- 
ruary? Of course, I do not expect 
you could tell exactly what a turkey 
hen would do, but would like your 
idea of it. If I thought thej' would 
not lay before March, T would rather 
sell them. What would you advise? 
— S. L. J. 

Answer — For fattening your cock- 
erels, coop them in a small place, so 
they will not exercise. Feed them 
three times a day a mash composed 
of one part each of corn meal (feed 
meal), bran and rolled oats, with a 
little charcoal, and mix it with milk, 
if possible. Take away the food in 
fifteen minutes, leaving only water 
and grit before them; give them all 
they will eat of this, and in from two 
to three weeks they will be delicious, 
fat and juicy. The last week add five 
per cent linseed or cotton seed meal. 

Your turkeys that are laying now 
will moult late and probably not com- 
mence to lay again before March or 
April, although as j'ou say, one can- 
not be very certain what a turkey hen 
will do. 

I do not think it would be advisable 
to shorten their ration of meat. Tur- 
keys require more meat and less car- 



How Much Grain — ^I have been 
feeding three times a day grain morn- 
ing and night and u mash at noon. I 
feed a good handful of Kaffir corn, 
wheat or Indian corn in the scratch 
pens. I have a mixed flock; I cannot 
well use the dry mash. How much 
of the grain should I give if I only 
fed once a day? I have fifty or sixty 
hens kept only for eggs and no good 
way of weighing grain, so please state 
quantity per hen and not weight. — C. 
A. B. 

Answer — It is a good rule to feed a 
pint of grain for everj^ dozen hens, the 
grain to be buried in the scratching 
pens, so they will have to dig it out. 
Give all the green food, clover, lawn 
clippings, alfalfa, lettuce, cabliage, 
vegetables, that they will eat, and one 
tablespoonful of green cut bone for 
each hen, three times a week. You 
do not mention how you make your 
mash. Remember that a hen needs 
animal food, green food and cereals; 
that is the balanced ration that will 
give plenty of eggs at all times. 



What to Feed and How — Will you 
kindly tell me what to feed my fowls? 
I am a stranger in California and 
cannot make my fiock pay for its feed. 
Four months ago I bought 25 hens 
and two cockerels (Buff Orpingtons), 
ten four-months' pullets and twelve 
Minorcas. The pullets have never 
layed, the hens only a few eggs. They 
have new houses and are in an or- 
ange grove 100 feet bj^ 65 feet in two 
pens. I take the Minorcas out of the 
trees each night. I feed an egg food 
sold at the supply house here. Grains, 
alfalfa meal, etc.. is in the egg food. 
The hens have dust baths and I paint 
the roosts with a lice killer. I get 
no eggs; one cockerel rattles in his 
throat. The leading poultryman here 
has been up and can find no fault. 
Will you please tell me wliat and how 
much and at what time of day they 
should be fed? They are high-priced 
fowls and I want to make them lay 
eggs. The grove is kept cultivated 
during the summer and everything is 
new. It seems to be only a question 



FEEDING IN GENERAL 



171 



of food and exercise. I get so many 
different opinions I do not know what 
to do; some say they are too fat, 
others not fat enough. How can I 
make thein scratch any more? I 
would like to feed as cheaply as pos- 
sible. Where could I get the Cali- 
fornia Experiment Station Bulletin? 
—Mrs. L. S. 

Answer — Your fowls, especially the 
Orpingtons, should be laying well. It 
is, as you say, a question of feed and 
exercise. I find the best results with 
Orpingtons is to feed grain in the 
scratching pen in the morning; one 
small handful scattered in deep straw 
for each hen. I keep the following 
mixture in a hopper, or box, before 
them all the time; also I give them 
crushed oyster shell, charcoal and 
granulated bone in a hopper by itself: 
Mix two quarts of bran, one of corn 
meal, one of alfalfa meal, one of beef 
scrap, or of granulated milk. To this 
I add, on cold days, a tablespoon of 
ground red peppers, and when they 
are moulting, half a cup of linseed 
meal. 

If you feed in this way you cannot 
fail to have eggs. Besides this, I give 
the hens lawn clippings, table scraps 
and refuse vegetables. Hens do much 
l)etter in this climate when they can 
have plenty of green food. All the 
bulletins of the Agricultural Experi- 
ment Station can be had by writing to 
the Director of the Station, Univer- 
sity of California, Berkeley, Cal. 
They are free to residents in this 
state. 

Broken Glass for Chickens — Have 
started in poultry in a small way. 
Have had very good success so far. 
However, 'tis somewhat of a trial to 
get enough gravel or grit for a good 
sized flock on a small lot. Now, 
what I want to know is, is pounded 
glass fit to feed hens? Two of my 
neighbors have advised its use in the 
poultry yards, but I am afraid it 
would act on the chickens the same 
as it did on foxes we used to poison 
with it up in the wilds of Wisconsin. 
—J. G. F. 

Answer — Broken glass or broken 
crockery make a very fair substitute 
for grit and gravel. It should be 
broken not smaller than a grain of 
wheat and have three sharp edges or 
corners to each piece. In using glass 
be sure not to take pointed pieces 



like slivers, because they may pierce 
the crop or gizzard. For several 
years when I could not get grit I 
used broken crockery for the chickens 
and I know it does well. 



Substitute for Green Food — Will 
you kindly tell me what would be the 
quickest and best vegetable for green 
food I could grow for my poultry? I 
planted a patch of white clover, but it 
does not seem to grow at all. Is al- 
falfa meal a good substitute where 
green food cannot be had? — G. K. 

Answer — An alfalfa patch is a good 
thing to have for poultry, but if you 
cannot have either clover or alfalfa, 
plant for the little chickens, lettuce, 
and for the older ones, kale, swiss- 
chard, cabbage, beets, etc. These in 
the order in which I have mentioned 
them are the best foods that I know 
of. You, of course, must judge what 
will grow best in your section. Alfal- 
fa meal is a very fair substitute for 
green food, but of course does not 
come up to the crisp succulent fresh 
growing greens. 



Lack Green Food — I have three 
pens of White Plymouth Rocks and 
what bothers me is I only get from 
four to six eggs from them. They all 
look fine. I think they are rather fat. As 
to feed, I give them a small handful 
of grain in the morning in deep straw, 
either wheat or barley; about eleven a 
dry mash — eight quarts bran, four 
quarts middlings and nearly a quart of 
beef scraps; at night I give them the 
dry grain again. Once in a while a 
tablespoonful of pepper in their mash. 
They are not troubled with lice or 
mites, and have grit, oyster shell and 
coal before them all the time; also 
good clean water. Can you advise 
me how to feed them so as to get 
them down to business? — J. B. 

Answer — What your hens lack is 
green food. At least one-third of a 
hen's food should be green — clover, 
alfalfa or some succulent vegetables. 
They cannot do well upon the abso- 
lutely dry food you are giving them. 
Add the green to your present ration 
and you should get eggs. 



Millet Seed — Can you tell me what 
makes my chickens that are from ten 
weeks to three months old, droopy? 
Is millet seed good for little chicks 



172 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



for the first two or three weeks? I 
mean millet seed alone. — Mrs. P. E. N. 
Answer — When chickens are droopy 
it is a sign that they may have either 
lice, worms or indigestion. If you are 
feeding millet seed, that may account 
for it. Millet seed is very hard, round 
and slippery, and passes through the 
gizzard and intestines without being 
digested, and I have known of several 
chickens dying from it. A little used 
in their food may not hurt them, but 
an exclusive diet of millet is certain to 
cause trouble. 



Skim Milk — Will you kindly inform 
me wliethcr skim milk is a good food 
for young pullets or laying hens? 
Which is best, sweet, clabber or curd? 
Is there danger of feeding too much 
curd or skim milk? Is curd of more 
value to young stock or to laying 
hens? I have a bunch of ten-weeks- 
old pullets that I am feeding clabber 
and bran mixed until it makes a 
crumbly mash. Is it a fattening or 
muscle or bone making ration? How 
would it do to feed to laj^ing stock? 
I give skim milk to my laying hens in 
troughs which set in the sun. Will 
that kill diseased germs or not? — L. 
E. E. 

Answer — Skim milk is one of the 
best foods for chickens or hens at any 
stage of their lives. It can be fed 
either sweet, clabber or curd. By 
curd, I mean cooked. If you cook 
it, be careful not to heat it above 100 
degrees or it will become tough and 
indigestible. There is no danger of 
feeding too much skim milk or clab- 
ber to fowls. The crumbly mash is 
good feed, but you would succeed 
just as well by giving them the bran 
dry and letting them drink or eat the 
milk as they want it. It is a good 
bone, muscle and egg-making ration. 
I give my fowls all the milk I can 
spare, pouring it into troughs and 
leaving it till they eat it. The sun 
does not seem to aflfect it badly when 
it is pure milk, but if bran were 
mixed with it, the sun might make it 
ferment and then it would disagree 
with theiTi. 



Sorghum Seed — Will you tell me 
the value of sorghum seed for poul- 
try? Is it fat producing or an egg 
food, and how would it do for tur- 
keys?— C. B. C. 

Answer — Sorghum seed, broom 
corn seed and Egyptian corn have al- 
most the same nutritive value. They 
can be fed to both chickens and tur- 
keys with the same satisfactory re- 
sults. One year when on the farm I 
had several tons of broom corn seed 
which was left where the threshers 
worked and the fowls had free access 
to it and the green-growing wheat; 
they got through the moult early and 
laycd all winter, eggs galone. I never 
saw better laying and the turkeys did 
well on it. Professor Jaflfa in his 
most valuable bulletin (Farmer's bul- 
letin 164) on poultry feeding, gives 
us the nutritive value of broom corn 
and of sorghum seed as both the same 
— 1:8.4; of Egyptian corn, 1:8-6; Sor- 
ghum seed is more fattening than 
wheat and less fattening than corn. 
If j'our fowls are on free range and 
have plenty of green food and animal 
food or milk, sorghum seed will be 
an excellent food for them. You 
should write to the Director Agricul- 
tural Experiment Station, University 
of California, Berkeley, and ask him 
to send you "Bulletin 164 on Poultry 
Feeding," then you can see just the 
right way to balance your ration. 



Kaffir Com — 1. Is Kaffir corn the 
same as Egyptian corn, and is it an 
egg food or simply a fattening food? 

2. About what should a White 
Plymouth cockerel weigh at four 
months old? 

Answer — 1. Kaffir and Egj'ptian 
corn belong to the same family and 
are very much alike. They are both 
fattening grains, and I prefer mixing 
them with other grains, such as wheat, 
barley, oats or buckwheat. 

2. A White Rock cockerel at four 
months of age should weigh about 
four pounds; at six months, six 
pounds. 



THE EGG QUESTION 



Egg-Bound — I have the White 
Minorcas. Have IS hens and get 
from 12 to 14 eggs per day. I have 
a pullet and an old hen that seem 
to droop and sit around all day, and 
sometimes stagger; they had been lay- 
ing all the time and their combs are 
still red, but they do not lay now. 
I feed them bran mash in the morn- 
ing with alfalfa meal and egg-maker, 
and once a week chopped onions and 
red pepper, and at noon we give them 
green grass, and at night wheat, be- 
sides this they get lots of meat scraps 
from the table; they have oystershell 
and grit before them all the time. 
They have not eaten anything since 
they felt this way, but seem to kind 
of gasp for breath, and they do not 
seem to have anything in their craws. 
Thanking you in advance for a reply, 
I remain. — Mrs. J. W. S. 

Answer — Your hens certainly have 
been doing very well. Minorcas very 
often get egg-bound, as their eggs 
are so large they have difficulty in 
laying them. This may be the case 
with yours, and I would advise you 
to examine them. You might also 
give them some Epsom salts, half a 
teaspoonful in a tablespoonful of wa- 
ter. If they are egg-bound, inject a 
little olive oil and hold the body of 
the hen in a pan of warm water, as 
warm as you can bear your hands 
in; this will relax the parts and en- 
able the egg to pass. If it is indi- 
gestion, the Epsom salts will help 
that. I think your hens may not be 
getting green food enough. 

Egg-bound is most common in 
sluggish birds, or those closely con- 
fined without opportunity to exercise. 
Active fowls, such as Leghorns, sel- 
dom take life easy enough to get fat, 
hence are not subject to this disease, 
which is largely owing to an over-fat 
condition of the entire system, in 
which the egg passage is pressed upon 
by the accumulation of fat, hindering 
the passage of the egg. Not only are 
there large collections of fat in the ab- 
dominal cavity, but much of the mus- 
cular tissue is replaced by streaks of 
fat. This weakens the muscles of the 
egg passage, so that the egg may be 
arrested in the passage where it sets 
up inflammation. This same egg- 
bound condition sometimes causes 
death from heart disease. The bird 



goes on the nest to lay, strains vio- 
lently to pass the egg, the heart mus- 
cles are decidedly weak from fatty de- 
generation, the extra exertion is too 
much for the weakened heart, and it 
gives out, the bird being found on the 
nest dead. 

In the early stages when the irri- 
tation is slight, it is sufficient to in- 
ject a small quantity of olive oil and 
gently manipulate the parts. After- 
wards give cooling green food, and 
if the hens are too fat, reduce the 
ration. In case the expulsion of the 
egg cannot be obtained by the injec- 
tion of oil, immerse the lower 
part of the body in water, as warm 
as can be used without injury, and 
hold it there half an hour or more, 
until the parts are relaxed. Then in- 
ject oil and endeavor to assist the 
bird by careful pressure and manipu- 
lation or by gentle dilatation of the 
passage. 



It Cured Them — How long can 
eggs be kept for setting and do they 
require any special treatment? I have 
a favorite hen and I want to set as 
many of her eggs as possible, but 
I do not know how long they will 
remain fertile, as I have no hen want- 
ing to sit at present. Several of my 
fowls had a touch of roup and I tried 
a remedy that you gave (castor oil, 
camphorated oil, kerosene, turpentine 
and a few drops of carbolic acid) 
squirted up her nostrils. I also mixed 
another remedy that you gave (cay- 
enne pepper, mustard, vinegar, lard 
and flour) and gave it to the fowls, in 
pills, as you said. I happened to leave 
it where they could get at it, and 
found that I need not give it in pills 
for they were eating it with relish. 
I have made the mixture several 
times since and they seem to be 
very fond of it. Their combs have 
become very red and although they 
are moulting, they are laying well. 
Would you advise allowing them to 
eat all they want of it? They are 
entirely well of the roup. — Mrs. H. 
A. H. 

Answer — In reply to your first 
question, it is well to remember that 
the fresher the eggs you set, the 
stronger will be the chicks. I have 
always set them as fresh as I can get 
them, and I never sold eggs over a 



174 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



week old for setting. However, I 
have kept egg.s from a favorite hen 
for three weeks and had a very good 
hatch. To keep them, I always lay 
the eggs on their side on sawdust or 
on grain (oats or barley) to keep 
them from rolling and I turn them 
every day. By this means the yolk 
does not adhere to one side, and I 
have a good hatch. Some advise 
standing them on the small end, but 
it docs not succeed as well as my 
way. I am glad your fowls have 
gotten over the roup. I would not 
advise you to let them eat their medi- 
cine, l)ccause that remedy is a very 
powerful stimulant, and although ex- 
cellent for a cold, often curing it in 
one day, it will prove an irritant if 
continued too long. It is even now 
stimulating the cg^ organs and digest- 
ive organs greatly, as is shown by 
the comb, and I advise you to dis- 
continue it, increasing the animal 
food; and, as yours are Rhode Island 
Reds, I would advise adding some oil 
cake (linseed meal) to the food. 
This will help to give a fine gloss to 
the new feathers. 



Soft Shelled Eggs — Having i-ead a 
great deal of your advice, I will ask 
of you a favor. Would you please 
tell me what can be the reason chick- 
ens lay unshelled eggs? They some- 
times drop them while on the roost 
or out among the brush. Mine have 
been very bad of late; I get as many 
as three or four a day, sometimes, 
from about thirty hens. I should be 
real thankful to find out what to do 
for them.— Mrs. L. K. L. 

Answer — Soft-shelled eggs are not 
exactly a diseased condition, but may 
be a symptom of approaching danger. 
It is usually due to a lack of shell- 
making material in the food, or to 
inflammation of the shell-forming 
chaml)cr of the cgi:!; duct, which no 
longer secretes calcareous matter. 
Over-stimulation of the egg organs 
by the use of pepper or stimulating 
egg foods, will have this effect. 
Worms in the intestines may also pro- 
duce the irritation that will affect the 
oviduct, and an over-fat condition will 
increase the tendency to laying soft- 
shelled eggs. This is the common 
cause of soft-shelled eggs. 

Treatment — Provided the cause is 
an over-fat condition, it can be reme- 
died by giving a ration low in fat-pro- 



ducing elements. Give the fowls 
plenty of shell-forming material, such 
as crushed oyster shells and grit, cut 
bone and green food; make them 
work for the grain, which should be 
wheat in preference to other grains. 
One heaping teaspoonful of Epsom 
salts to a pint of drinking water kept 
before the hens for a day twice a 
week, will help remove the layers of 
fat. Feed a properly balanced ration 
and do not try to increase the egg 
yield by using stimulants that irritate 
the organs of reproduction. 



Blood Spot on Yolk— I have 150 
Brown Leghorn pullets just starting 
to lay, and I supply a few customers 
with eggs and they have been com- 
plaining of finding a little blood spot 
on the yolk. I have plenty of nest 
room so they are not crowded. I 
have been picking 70 to 80 eggs a 
day. They have abundance of green 
feed. I feed soft feed in the morning, 
wheat at mid-day, corn at evening, so 
if you will please let me know what 
the cause of this is, I will be very 
much obliged, because my customers 
are getting dissatisfied. — W. W. M. 

Answer — The small blood clot you 
describe results from a slight hemor- 
rhage which has generally occurred 
in the upper two-thirds of the oviduct. 
Such hemorrhages are the result of 
great functional activity and conges- 
tion of the blood vessels. They are 
excited by any of the causes which 
lead to congestion and inflammation 
and arc to be counteracted by green 
feed and less animal food and by the 
suppression of red-pepper or any 
stimulants. Give a little Epsom salts 
in the water and add about twice the 
amount of salt you are giving to the 
mash in the morning, leaving off the 
red-pepper. 



Largest White Eggs — I am start- 
ing or trying to start a poultry ranch 
and would like to ask you a question 
recently asked by some one else, but 
in a little different way. Which of 
the good laying breeds lay the largest 
white eggs? My aim is for good city 
trade.— E. A. M. 

Answer — The Black Minorcas have 
tlie reputation of laying the largest 
wliitc eggs. The White Leghorns are 
their close competitors. It very much 
depends upon the strain or family. 
For instance, one set of fowls may 



THE EGG QUESTION 



175 



have been selected for beauty of fea- 
ther and form and their owners may 
not have chosen those that layed the 
largest eggs, whilst some have care- 
fully chosen the largest egg-layers, and 
bred from those, not caring for ex- 
hibition birds, and again a third party 
might have united these two qualities 
and have both prize winners and the 
best of layers. It depends upon the 
ability of the breeder and also upon 
his object. 

Black Minorcas do admirably in the 
climate of Southern California. I do 
not know how they would grow in a 
damper, colder climate. You would 
have to inquire of people who have 
had experience in that kind of a cli- 
mate. 



Sudden Death — Lately I have ha4 
three hens die suddenly, and apparent- 
ly without cause; my neighbors have 
also lost several. Perhaps you can 
enlighted us and suggest a remedy. 
The hens were laying, combs red and 
large, crops full of wheat, etc., but 
die on the nest over night. I held a 
post mortem examination and could 
find nothing radically wrong. Each 
had well formed eggs and many of 
them. They roost high in the open 
air; run out nights and mornings on 
alfalfa. I feed wheat mostly, and 
once every other day, hot bran mash 
with a spoonful of egg-maker. Have 
had over 40 dozen eggs without inter- 
ruption since January 1st, from 
twelve pullets — -Minorcas — of my own 
raising. This is the first death I 
have ever had except of the little 
chicks. Pens are clean, no lice or 
mites. Have studied closely and can't 
"savy." Perhaps you can. The heart 
of the first one seemed the only cause 
for death, as it had a large inforct, 
probably fatty degeneration; the other 
was normal. — Dr. J. A. B. 

Answer — I think, as your hens died 
on the nest, that they had some diffi- 
culty in laying, and were probably 
egg-bound. The Minorcas laying a 
large egg, are frequently subject to 
this trouble, more so, in fact, than 
the other breeds which lay smaller 
eggs. Straining in laying frequently 
is the cause of a blood vessel break- 
ing in the head, which, of course, re- 
sults in apoplexy. Minorcas rarely 
suffer from an over-fat condition, as 
they are a very active breed. 



Egg-Eating Hens — Would you 

kindly tell me how to treat egg-eating 

hens? What will cure them? — Mrs. 
R. E. G. 

Answer — The best way is to cut 
the head off the offender and cat her, 
for she is certain to be fat. The in- 
formation you ask for is as follows: 
Mr. Morse (a chicken expert) gives 
five remedies for the bad habit of egg- 
eating. First: Fit up an arrange- 
ment whereby the eggs, as soon as 
layed, slide down and out of sight, 
into a sort of false bottom under the 
nest. The hens will not eat them 
because they cannot get them. Sec- 
ond: Have a lot of China eggs lying 
about proiTiiscuous-like on the floor. 
Trying to eat such eggs is likely to 
discourage egg-eating. Third: Fi.x up 
a hollow egg with aloes. One bite is 
enough. Consult the corner druggist 
as to how to make the iness. Fourth: 
Have grit and crushed oyster shells 
about in abundance in self-feeding 
boxes. Fifth: Do not stuff your 
hens full of mash in the morning 
and let them sit around all day, like 
"Father" in the song, "Everybody 
Works But Father," but feed them 
grain in litter and make them hustle 
all day. This keeps them out of mis- 
chief. Mr. Morse's advice may be 
good, but I recommend using trap 
nests by which means you will easily 
discover the guilty hen, and if she 
is not too valuable, the verdict should 
be decapitation. Keep oyster shells, 
grit and charcoal before your hens 
and there will be very little egg-eat- 
ing for it is a vice which always com- 
mences with weak or soft egg shells. 



Novel Nests — Do you know the 
name of the maker of a nest with an 
opening in the bottom so that the 
eggs will drop through into a box 
below to prevent the hens from eat- 
ing the eggs? 

Answer — I have seen the mention 
of such nests but have never in all 
the many poultry ranches I visited, 
seen such nests in use. You might 
try darkened nests. They are simply 
a curtain of burlap hung in front of 
the nest with a split up the middle.. 
When the hen has layed and stepped 
off the nest the curtain closes behind 
her and she can not see the egg to 
eat it. Tliis has l)ecn found suc- 
cessful. 



176 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



HATCHING WITH INCUBATOR AND HEN 



Poor Hatches— We have been run- 
ning our incubator since February 
and our hatches have been quite poor. 
Our hens are two years old and so 
are our roosters. The hens are fed 
regularly, and have a large run with 
plenty of alfalfa; a clean airy coop. 

The chicks, when hatched, are 
strong and vigorous. We have some 
si.x weeks old and we have not lost 
one, but when they are hatching 
many die in their shells. Out of 450 
eggs n tested out not fertile or dead 
germs, and out of ZIZ remaining eggs, 
only 182 hatched. We are hatching 
White Leghorns. Can you tell us 
what to do, or what the matter is? 
We have been following your advice 
in many things. 

Do you think that slamming of 
doors or jarring is bad for incubators 
when hatching? — Mrs. M. F. De W. 

Answer — I think the fault in your 
incubator is that it has not sufificient 
ventilation. An insufficiency of oxy- 
gen will cause poor hatches such as 
you describe. With the care you give 
your fowls and their being two years 
old, the fault does not lie in the par- 
ent bird or their eggs, therefore it 
certaintly comes from a faulty incu- 
bator. In the future, air the eggs 
three times a day; fan out the stale 
air of the incubator each time you air 
the eggs, and if you find they are dry- 
ing out too much, sprinkle them, af- 
ter the first week, twice a week with 
warm water . Slamming the door or 
jarring the incubator during incuba- 
tion is not advisable, but on the day 
of hatching it would not injure them. 



Infertility — Will you kindly tell me 
what to do to make eggs more fer- 
tile? I have a fine pen of Colum- 
bian Wyandottes, eight pullets mated 
with a cock two years old. They are 
fed on dry mash of bran, ground bar- 
ley, corn meal, alfalfa meal and beef 
scrap with plenty of grit, shell, char- 
coal and ground bone before them all 
the time, and are running in a corral 
of grass and clover; they have plenty 
of fresh water and the hens lay well. 
What chicks I do get are strong and 
iicalthy; out of fifteen eggs only two 
were fertile. 

I have another pen, four hens, two 
years old, mated with a cockerel one 
3'ear old. Fed the same in every way; 



their shells are smooth but full of 
clear spots. What shall I feed to 
make shells better? — Mrs. E. H. G. 
Answer — The usual requirements 
missing from the food when eggs are 
infertile are green food and animal 
food, therefore, I would advise you to 
feed more green food, more animal 
food and a great deal less barley and 
corn meal. Wyandottes are apt to 
get too fat to have good fertility un- 
less they have plenty of exercise. 
From your account, I think neither 
pen has sufficient exercise and the 
four old hens require more lime. Mix 
some fresh quick lime in water to the 
consistency of pancake batter; let it 
stand 24 hours, then pour out a cake 
of it on the ground. It will soon dry, 
and by crumbling a little of it every 
day, the hens will pick it up. Add a 
teaspoonful of baking soda to a quart 
of their drinking water and keep this 
before them for a week. By this 
means I think your ^^^ shells will 
improve. 



Airing Eggs in Incubator — You 

have stated that you aired your eggs 
about one hour daily. Would that 
have a tendency to make your hatch 
come ofif late, or did you run the ma- 
chine higher to offset the cooling? 
Did you start in from the first week 
to air that length of time, or was 
it gradual? If I aired them longer 
without chilling, could I get them 
out in time, or does airing make them 
late? The chicks that come out were 
very wet; some of them stuck in the 
shell; the stuff drying down and glue- 
ing them in. — Mrs. N. A. R. 

Answer — After the eggs have been 
in the incubator 48 hours, I com- 
mence airing them about five min- 
utes twice a day, gradually increasing 
the time two minutes each time. By 
the third week I am airing them 20 
minutes twice a day, or if the incu- 
bator is a hot-water machine, I air 
them three times a day in a room 
that is not lower than 70 to 75 de- 
grees, because I do not want to chill 
the eggs. If they are too much 
chilled or cooled off, they are apt to 
be weakly, the hatch retarded, and 
the chickens have difficulty in coming 
out of the shell, such as you describe. 
Evidently you have either cooled the 
eggs too much or you have run the 



HATCHING WITH INCUBATOR AND HEN 



177 



incubator at too low a temperature. 
We want to give the eggs as much 
oxygen (fresh air) as possible without 
chilling them. 



Cripples — Some of my incubator 
chickens are almost cripples when 
they are taken from the incubator. 
Some have crippled, crooked and 
crumpled up toes, others have one 
leg too short, or turned out the wrong 
way, and some of them are not able 
to stand up — they hold their head 
back so far that they fall backward. 
—A. H. S. 

Answer — The cause of cripples in- 
variably is irregularity of tempera- 
ture in the incubator. Your incuba- 
tor has been too hot at some period, 
probably the last week; this causes 
cripples. Those that hold their heads 
back do so from the eggs not having 
been turned sufficiently during incu- 
bation. 

As you do not mention the name 
of the incubator, I cannot tell you 
just where the- lack is. It may be 
poor oil; it may be it is run in a 
draught and it may lack ventilation. 



Lack Oxygen — I took 200 thrifty 
chicks from the incubator about eight 
weeks ago. They did very well for 
about two weeks, when they began to 
die and today I have SO left, and these 
look too scrubby to be worth raising. 
I have given them extra attention and 
the best feed. They get pale around 
the head, grow weak and are skin 
and bone when they die. I think 
they have consumption. The brooder 
is a tight box and no ventilation, ex- 
cept the lid has a round hole about 
as large as a teacup, and the little 
entrance window about six inches 
square. An iron pipe running through 
is the heating arrangement. Inside 
the box, to fit close over the pipe, 
is a cap of wood with flannel curtains 
dropping to the floor under which the 
chicks hover. Don't you think this 
is too close a place? The outside 
box is only 6 inches deep, then they 
hover inside; this only gives 4 inches 
space for the chicks. Please tell me 
if you think the lid to brooder would 
be better of wire or where do you 
think the trouble is? Also tell me 
how granulated milk is prepared. We 
have lately begun feeding to every- 
thing in the poultry yard, beef scraps, 
bone meal and linseed meal in what 



we think proper proportions once a 
day. Should chicks only eight weeks 
old be fed this ration the same as 
hens? What causes eggs to be ridgy 
and uneven? Can one feed to produce 
larger eggs? Our hens are large, but 
lay small eggs — Mrs. J. B. S. 

Answer — I think that the lack of 
oxygen in your brooder is the only 
difficulty with your chicks. Still I 
am very much afraid that tuberculosis 
may have got in, and infected the 
brooder. If possible, move your 
chicks into a weaning house, open en- 
tirely on one side (or only closed 
with chicken wire). Make a little 
frame of gunny-sacking or out of a 
piece of blanket that they can go un- 
der. This will rest upon their backs 
to keep them warm. Give them no 
other heat. At this season of the 
year (August) eight weeks old chicks 
should have no heat whatever, at 
night. I think you are keeping your 
chickens too warm, without enough 
fresh air and possibly they may have 
mites or lice. Air their sleeping 
place well; put the hover out into the 
sunshine every day. This will kill 
the germs of tuberculosis better than 
anything. 

Granulated milk is made at Bing- 
hampton, N. Y. I do not know the 
process. 

Chicks eight weeks old can have 
the beef-scraps, bone meal and lin- 
seed meal in the same proportions as 
hens. 

Uneven eggs are caused either from 
defect in the oviduct or from an in- 
sufficiency of lime or hurried laying. 

Some strains of hens lay small eggs 
and over-fat hens will lay small eggs. 
More protein added to their food will 
often increase the size of the eggs: 
By choosing the large eggs for hatch- 
ing, you can increase the size of the 
eggs in the next generation. 



Setting Hens — Can you tell me 
what is the matter with my chickens? 
They seem good and healthy until 
they start to set, then they invariably 
develop a severe case of diarrhoea, 
which causes them to leave their eggs 
after a few days. I have now a hen 
that wants to set, aad have just re- 
ceived a setting of thoroughbred eggs.^ 
but today I noticed the same trouble 
as with the others, except that she 
seems to be a great deal worse, for 
her droppings are of a bloody na- 



7S 



MRS i;.\Sl,i:VS WI'.STI'RN rOULTRY BOOK 



turo. (."an it he from too much hluc- 
^toiio ill tln'ir wator or bocauso of too 
imicli i\uK-fi"'>^^*^l? 1 f<-'^"<^l thorn a mixed 
looil from the food yard, oimsisting- 
oi oiMii, \vlioat, Kaflir corn, bocf 
scraps, liono. cluircoal, oyster slioll, 
liarloy and some other grains 1 can- 
not classify. They get this twice a 
day together with all the table scrap 
and all the grass they can eat. 'riicy 
also have plenty of exercise. Is there 
anything 1 can do for this particnlar 
hen? Shall 1 try to set her or get 
some other hen for the eggs? Still 
another question, what causes a milky, 
watery substance in the whites of the 
eggs; it runs out after the eggs have 
been cooked? — G. W. Y. 

Answer — It is the bluostone in the 
water that thoroughly disagrees with, 
or poisons the setting hens. Feed a 
setting hen only grains, wheat and 
corn mixed, and give her fresh water 
to drink without any medicine in it. 
You should not be giving your hens 
bluostone at this season of the year 
at all. They do not need it. and it 
will injure the fertility of the eggs 
and make the chicks hatching out 
weakly. Do not sot the hen you men- 
tioned, as in all probability she will 
leave the eggs. All setting hens 
should be in perfect health and entire- 
ly free from lice or mites. You had 
better got another hen for those eggs. 

The milkiness in the whites of your 
eggs is an indication that they are 
perfectly fresh, that is. now layed. and 
is a great recommendation for the 
quality of your eggs. 



Chicks Dying in Shell — A large per 
cent of my chicks, fully developed, die 
the day they are due to hatch, even 
after pipping the shell. They seem 
to dry in the shell. — Mrs D. D. 

Answer — Float the eggs in warna 
water. That will help the chicks to 
break through the shell better than 
anything 1 know of. Next time try 
sprinkling the eggs after the oightli 
day twice a week with warm water. 
I think you will tuid it is what is 
needed in your dry climate, and is 
likely to help matters. 



Answer — If your hen has been sit- 
ting for a week or ten day, she will 
"take to" the chicks as well as though 
she had hatched them herself; espe- 
cially if she is a Plymouth Rock or 
Huff Orpington. Those two breeds 
have a greater atYoction for chickens 
than some of the others. Be sure 
that the hen is entirely clear of lice, 
and if she is a large hen. put from 15 
to 18 under her at night; a smaller 
hen should have from 12 to 15, not 
more, if you expect the chickens to do 
well. I have trained capons to act as 
mothers; they do even better than 
the hens. 



Thermometer — Will you kindly tell 
mo wlioro 1 could get tested thermom- 
eter for incubator; also where I could 
have one tested which I already have? 
— H. H. C. 

Answer — At any good drug store 
you can have your thermometer test- 
ed. If you want to buy a new one, 
go to the agent selling your make 
of incubator. Take the new one also 
to the druggist and have him test it 
thoroughly, because the thermom- 
eters, as they are seasoned some- 
times vary some degrees, and even a 
now one cannot be trusted. 



Fooling the Hen — Is it possible to 
fool a sotting hon into caring for some 
incubator chickens when she has not 
hatched them herself— Mrs. C. R. 



Helping Them Hatch — I find my 
\\ bite riymouth Rock eggs are very 
slow about hatching and sc^me I know 
would die in the shell if I had not 
dropped a few drc>ps of lukewarm wa- 
ter on their heads, as it seemed they 
would get about half out and then the 
white skin would dry on their heads 
and hold them fast. After having two 
die in the shell. I found they would 
free themselves if a few drops of 
warm water were sprinkled on them. 
I kept moisture in the pans aP three 
days and part of the fourth and thej- 
are still slowly hatching. This is fhe 
twenty-third day. Do you think 1 
should keep the moisture pan full for 
a week — I mean the last week of in- 
cubation? Please send me an '"dea on 
chick feed, as I can not get good clean 
chick feed here.— Mrs P. W. B. 

Answer — If you had only men- 
tioned the name of the incubator you 
are using. I could have better diag- 
nosed your case. As it is. all I can 
say to you is to follow the rules and 
directions they give you as closely 
as possible. With some machmes it 



HATCHING WITH INCUBATOR AND HEN 



179 



is very advisable to sprinkle the eggs 
twice a week after the twelfth day 
with warm water; tliis sceins to make 
the shells more brittle and prevents 
the inner lining skin from toughen- 
ing. I have found this lietter than 
keeping much moisture in the ma- 
chine. The moisture in the machinq 
seems to inake the chick grow, but 
does not make the shell brittle. Your 
Plymouth Rock eggs should hatch 
promptly on the 21st day. The de- 
layed incubation indicates that part of 
the time the temperature has been too 
low. Are you sure that your ther- 
mometer is perfectly correct; have 
you had it tested? On the efficiency 
of the thermometer much depends. 
Many thermometers that are accurate 
at first become, through the use of 
unseasoned glass in their manufac- 
ture, absolutely incorrect after a few 
months' use. Others are really only 
witliin two to four degrees of being 
correct, therefore, be sure you have 
your thermometer tested. About the 
chicken feed, write to the Experiment 
Station, University of California, Ber- 
keley, for bulletin 164 on poultry feed- 
ing. This gives you the lists of foods 
available in your part of the country, 
with the proper proportions for mix- 
ing them, see page 36. 



Eggs for Hatching — Will you kind- 
ly tell me what is the matter with my 
eggs? They will not hatch well. Our 
hens are Brown Leghorns and Rhode 
Island Reds. I only got fifteen chick- 
ens in my last batch. When we break 
the eggs after we know they will not 
hatch we find the chicks dead, but 
fully formed and just ready to hatch. 
Perhaps the shells are too hard. Will 
you please tell me what to do to 
make a softer shell? Feed according 
to your directions. 

Is it necessary to put moisture in 
the incubator? Does it hurt the eggs 
to sprinkle them with warm water if 
we think the shells are too hard? I 
will be very thankful if you will an- 
swer this, as I want to know before 
I commence to save eggs for next in- 
cubator lot. I do not keep them over 
two weeks and keep them in a cool, 
dark place, turning them every day. — 
Mrs. G. A. M. 

Answer — I wish I could tell you 
for certain what causes chickens to 
die in the shell. I have my theories 
about it, and I believe it comes from 



the eggs not being aired and cooled 
sufficiently. Cooling them and then 
warming them up again seems to 
make the shells more brittle, and this 
is the same under hens. If I notice 
that a hen is setting too closely, I 
take her off twice a day to cool the 
eggs. With an incubator I would air 
them and turn them three times a day, 
and either sprinkle them three times 
during the last ten days or float them 
in warm water two days before the 
hatch is due. Float them from three 
to five minutes, and then put them 
back into the tray while they are wet. 
I do not believe in putting moisture 
into the incubator unless the direc- 
tions call for it. 



Incubator Chicks Dying Off — We 

have started in witli the R. I. Reds, 
and have been fairly successful until 
our last hatch. Out of 65 eggs 44 
came out. Last Saturday they com- 
menced dying ofif, just fell seemingly 
from weakness and died soon after. 
We have fed them chick feed, bran, 
Indian meal, cayenne pepper, beef 
scraps, twice per day, and a little 
germazone in water occasionally. — 
C. R. H. 

Answer — From your description I 
am afraid that the chickens have 
either been chilled or may have been 
over-heated. Either one of these 
conditions will cause the symptoms 
you describe. All you can do now is 
to give them rice boiled in milk, add- 
ing a tablespoonful of ground cinna- 
mon to each pint. Give them also 
chopped lettuce and onions. Do not 
give any cornmeal or beef scraps. 
When chicks have been over-heated 
either in the incubator or brooder, it 
so weakens their bowels that they 
cannot digest their food and they die 
of starvation. 



Poor Hatching — I should like very 
much if you can give me some infor- 
mation about my hatching eggs in an 
incubator. I bought a new incubator 
this spring. I have set it twice and 
had the same results both times. The 
chicks form fully and then most of 
them die in the shell. As the same 
eggs do fine when put under a hen. I 
think it must be that I make some 
mistake in my treatment of the in- 
cubator. I have as nearly as possible 
followed the instructions that came 



180 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



with it. If you can give me any as- 
sistance, it will be appreciated very 
much.— Mrs. W. D. W. 

Answer — Your incubator is a good 
one. Its fault, for they all have some 
little fault, is that the ventilation is 
insufficient. Take the eggs out and air 
them after the first week three times 
a day. This will counteract the lack 
of ventilation. This cooling and then 
heating up again of the eggs makes 
the shell more brittle, so that the 
chick is able to break its way out 
much more easily. Another thing I 
found in using that incubator is that 
by taking the middle eggs out of the 
row, one in each hand, and putting 
them at the end of the row, and then 
pushing the others along into the 
vacant' places, I got a ten per cent 
better hatch. I got the idea from 
Egypt. Of course, you must be sure 
the machine stands level and that the 
thermometer is correct. 



Trouble with Incubators — I want to 
ask your advice about our incubator. 
We bought it new in January. Out 
of 200 fertile eggs we got 75 chickens, 
and all but nine died before they were 
10 days old. We thought it was the 
fault of the brooder. There were 
many cripples among them, but they 
all died of bowel trouble. On April 
30th we hatched 117 out of 150 fer- 
tile eggs, and gave the chicks to old 
hens, as we had laid our previous 
trouble to the brooder. But now the 
last are going the same way. Chicks 
hatched under hens at the same time 
are healthy and strong. We have 
only lost one so far. We feed pre- 
pared chick feed and take the best 
of care of the chicks. The incubator 
runs perfectly, always 103, until the 
chicks begin to work out of the shell, 
when it runs up to 104 and 105. We 
have set the incubator again. It will 
hatch May 29th. We do not intend 
to give up. — W. S. R. 

Answer — The trouble is in the in- 
cubation. At some time or other the 
heat has been too great. This is 
shown by there being cripples. I 
know it, because I have had the same 
experience several times myself. Once 
a hat was thrown on the machine; 
just touched the regulator; was only 
on for half a day. Another time a 
newspaper did the same tiling. My 
big cat slept on the incubator another 
night and lost me the hatcli. Each 



of the times I worked with the little 
cliicks, giving them everything I could 
think of, but without saving them. 
Now, I think there is a possibility 
that your incubator does not stand 
level and that, therefore, one side or 
corner of the machine is a very little 
higher than the other. That side or 
corner would be hotter than the other 
side without it affecting the ther- 
mometer and would cause all or most 
of the trouble. Again, are you sure 
the thermometer is correct? Borrow 
the doctor's clinical thermometer. 
This is what I did and put them both 
into a bucket containing about two 
quarts of water at 103 degrees and 
compared the two. You do not men- 
tion if the hatch came out on time. 
I feel sure that the eggs have been 
overheated, or part of them have, and 
in this way the bowels of the chick- 
ens have been weakened, the yolk of 
the egg has not been digested and 
they have dwindled and died, or 
bowel trouble has come on from the 
undigested yolk putrifying inside of 
them. I have made so inany post 
mortem examinations that I feel sure 
of what I am telling you. Examine 
your incubator with a spirit level to 
see that it is level. Test your ther- 
mometer and then try again, at the 
same time setting one or two hens, 
and as incubation proceeds examine 
the eggs, comparing them. I think 
you will find that the eggs under the 
hen dry out less quickly than those 
in the incubator. However, if this is 
not the case, if your incubator eggs 
dry out too quickly (the air space be- 
ing larger than that under the hens), 
you will have to regulate this by 
the ventilators of the incubator. 
Keep them closed. As yours is a 
hot-air incubator, there is no need of 
fanning out the stale air. The fault, 
if any, with your incubator is too 
rapid a circulation of air, thereby dry- 
ing the eggs out too soon. I think 
you had better run it half a degree 
cooler than you have been doing. I 
say this because the cripples and 
bowel troubles denote too high a tem- 
perature. I hope these hints may 
help you. Let me hear from you 
again if you have any more trouble. 



Willing to • Learn — T am thinking 
of starting in the poultry business and 
would like to ask a few questions. Are 
incubators a success? Why is it nee- 



HATCHING WITH INCUBATOR AND HEN 



181 



essary to test the eggs? Is it best to 
put young chickens in a brooder or to 
give them to a hen? Why could one 
not put eggs in the incubator as they 
are layed, say two or three a day and 
take the chickens out as they hatch? 
— F. L. 

Answer — -Incubators are a success 
if you get a good standard make. 
Find out what your neighbors are 
using successfully. It is necessary 
to test the eggs to take out the in- 
fertile ones and use them for eating 
or cooking so as not to waste them, 
also the infertile egg, not having life 
in it, is cold and chills the neighbor 
egg which has life in it. 

If you use an incubator, it is neces- 
sary to have a brooder, as you will 
hatch too many chickens to go under 
a hen. 

It is not best to put eggs into the 
incubator as they are layed, because 
for the last two days of incubation the 
incubator should remain closed, also 
for the first two days — and between 
those periods the eggs have to be 
moved, turned, and taken out of the 
incubator and cooled, consequently it 
is best to save the eggs until you 
have enough either to put under the 
hen or fill the incubator. 

Incubator — (Mrs. O. B. J., Los An- 
geles) — Will you please tell me if you 
have ever used the Cycle Incubator, 
how you like it and is there any place 
where I could buy one in Los An- 
geles? I have inquired, but can not 
find out, and as you answer questions, 
I hope you will reply to me as soon as 
possible. 

Answer — Personally I have not 
used the incubator, but I have known 
of it very favorably for some years. 
And I have heard that one of the 
most prominent business men in Los 
Angeles has just bought a large num- 
ber to supply his broiler plant. 

It is a channing little thing, about 
the size of a dishpan, easily carried 
around and could be operated very 
easily in any living room. It is ex- 
tremely simple and easily operated. 
Holds fifty eggs, is heated with a 
lamp which only needs filling once for 
a whole hatch. 

I think there is an agency for it in 
the Chamber of Commerce Building. 
There were some of these incubators 
at the poultry show. The incubator 
has also a brooder attachment and 



can be used as a very efficient brooder 
at the bottom while another setting 
of fifty eggs is being incubated above. 
From what I have heard from others, 
I think it well adapted for a small 
place or for any one who does not 
want to keep eggs for hatching until 
a large number can be collected. It is 
called "Cycle" from its being round. 



Natural Incubation — I am a reader 
of your articles and get much good 
from them. Am a beginner and have 
a great deal to learn. Will you kindly 
answer the following questions: 

1. Should a setting hen be shut 
on the nest and be let ofif each day? 
If so, how long should she be allowed 
to stay off the nest? 

2. Do the eggs get enough mois- 
ture in natural incubation? 

3. Is it good to sprinkle the eggs 
with water? If so, how often and 
in what stages of incubation should 
this be done? 

4. How long should chick feed be 
fed to chicks, and what is best after 
discontinuing this food? — R. M. 

Answer — It is best not to shut a hen 
on the nest, but to allow her to get 
on and ofif as she pleases unless there 
are other hens that can get to the 
nest to disturb her. It is a good 
plan to take the hen ofif the nest at 
a regular hour every day. I prefer 
about five o'clock in the evening, as 
then she will go back before supper 
time. A hen can be ofif the nest in 
pleasant weather from twenty min- 
utes to half an hour. She should be 
allowed to stay off long enough to 
eat all she wants and to dust herself. 
It is necessary for her to comeoflf 
at least once every twenty-four hours. 

2. Eggs usually get moisture 
enough from the perspiration of the 
hen. I like to float the eggs in warm 
v/ater two days before the hatch 
comes off. I think it helps the eggs 
to hatch well and it also shows, by 
the eggs bobbing about on the water 
which eggs have live chicks in them. 

4. Chick feed should be fed about 
six weeks, but it is best to begin 
when the chicks are three or four 
weeks old to add wheat and Kaffir 
corn to the chick food and make the 
change gradual. Commence by one- 
fourth of the larger grains and three- 
fourths of chick feed. Then gradu- 
ally increase the Kaffir corn and 
wheat until that is the principal feed. 



182 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



Brooder Chicks — I shall have to 
come to you for liclp about my little 
chickens, as I know that you know 
what to do. 

I am only a bep^inncr. I have an 
incubator and hot water brooder, and 
before I bought your book I could not 
make them hatch, but now, with its 
help, following your directions, I have 
a fine liatch. I turned and aired the 
eggs as 3'ou said. Now my chicks 
(VVhite Leghorns) are two weeks old 
and I have lowered the temperature 
in the brooder about one degree a 
day; but about every other day one 
will die. I have thirty-two in the 
brooder, so they are not crowded at 
all. I have put insect powder on them 
and they are fed chick food; they have 
plenty of fresh water in a fountain, 
which I keep in their yard. I make 
them work in alfalfa for their feed, as 
you instructed. They are not stuck 
up lichind, as far as I can tell, but 
when one is about to die, it goes up 
into a corner of the brooder under 
the pipe. 

If you will give me advice about 
what to do, I shall be very much ob- 
liged, as I am afraid 1 sliall lose tliem 
all.— N. H. H. 

Answer. — I am glad j'ou had a good 
liatch. The fault with that incubator 
is lack of ventilation, and of the 
brooder is that there is a draught on 
the floor, so that the chicks' feet are 
cold. I tried a good many plans with 
that brooder, and finally I built them 
over. However, the best plan before 
I changed them I found was to put 
on the floor a gunny sack or bit of 
warm old carpet, and on that put near- 
ly two inches of chaff or finely cut 
straw or hay. I also left the lid a lit- 
tle bit open. Before that the chicks' 
heads got too hot on the pipes and 
their little feet too cold. 

I am rather surprised that they have 
not been troubled with diarrliooa. 

Faulty Incubation — I ;im a begin- 
Ticr in the poultry business and would 
like to ask you a few questions that 
have been troubling me: 

1. I have been hatching chickens 
and ducks in an incubator and they 
don't hatch as well as with a hen. I 
find ([uite a number dead in the shells. 
I do not understand it as I follow 
the directions that come with the ma- 
chine. 

2. A number of the cliicks "walk 
around on their knees." Some o^ 



tlieir legs -stick straight up and they 
Hop along on the joint with the aid 
of tlicir wings. They soon die. Why 
is tliis? Ls there any way to avoid it? 
3. I had twenty ducks hatch with 
liens and have only eleven left. We 
first notice them to lag behind the 
rest, then as they grow more stupid 
they fall over with their heads tlirown 
back as people do when they have 
spinal meningitis. Can you tell by 
this description what was the matter 
with tlieni? — L. W., Corcoran. 

Answer — The trouble is that the 
heat has been irregular in your incu- 
bator, and probably the eggs have 
not been aired sufficiently. 

2. Crjpples, such as you describe, 
invariably come from over heating, 
especially the last ten days in the in- 
cubator. It may be only for a few 
hours. It is such a pity, for it alway^ 
seems to l)e tlie biggest and best 
chicks. I have once or twice suc- 
ceeded in straiglitening out the legs 
and setting the knee, fastening it with 
a rubber. 

3. The trouble with tlic ducks is 
severe indigestion. It may be they 
have not had sand enough in their 
food, or they have eaten some animai 
food that was not fresh — was decay- 
ing. Lack of shade will give the 
same symptoms. The drinking vessel 
must be deep enough for them to get 
tlieir entire bill under water, for they 
require to rinse their nostrils many 
times a day and will die if they can- 
not. 

Brooders— (Airs. S.M.G.)— I would 
like to tell you about the brooders 1 
made from your description of them. 
I have used the Fireless Brooder for 
five months and have had no trouble 
in getting the chicks to go inside 
when they are cold. When I first put 
fifty chicks into the Fireless, the 
weather was cold and at first I found, 
like others, that the little fellows did 
not know where to go when they felt 
cold, so on the third day I put a gallon 
jug of hot water in the center of the 
brooder, covering the jug with a hood 
made of several layers of newspaper. 
I took two or three chicks and held 
them against the jug until their happy 
chirping brought all the others; after 
that I liad no trouble. They no longer 
needed to be shown. I removed the 
jug at night and put it back in the 
morning for a few days, filling it with 



YARD ROOM 



183 



less warm water each morning. Dur- 
ing the summer months I did not find 
it necessary to -put any attraction in 
the brooders as the chicks seemed 
warm enough from the first to spend 
the entire day in the sun. 



This account fiom Mrs. G. will in- 
terest and iielp many of our readers. 

Tlic brooders are those made by 
Mr. Hammons of the Mammoth Pa- 
cific Poultry Plant at Ingleside, Cali- 
fornia. 



YARD ROOM 



How Many Chickens to Keep on a 
City Lot — Will you kindly tell me 
how many chickens can be kept on a 
city lot seventy-five by a hundred 
and eighty feet? Do you think chick- 
ens will lay well during the rainy sea- 
son in Seattle, Wash., if they are 
properly fed and housed? How big 
a house do we need for fifty chickens? 

Last September we bought thirty 
Plymouth Rock hens and thirty pul- 
lets. We got from ten to sixteen eggs 
from the hens per day, until about the 
middle of December, when they began 
to fall off. We are still getting that 
amount, but half of them are from the 
pullets. Do you think they are doing 
as well as we could expect? — Mrs. 
L. E. S. 

Answer — In your climate it would 
very much depend upon the shelter 
from the rain that you can give the 
chickens. Fifty chickens should be 
divided into two pens with two 
houses. Each house not less than ten 
by twelve feet in size. I would ad- 
vise a good scratching pen to be made 
either adjoining the house and cov- 
ered with a roof, or else make the 
scratching pen to extend underneath 
the dropping boards. You might 
keep several hundred hens upon land 
75 X 180 feet, if you have ample house 
room for them so they would be well 
sheltered from the rain. Hens that 
are wet every day will not lay well. 
Your fowls are doing well consider- 
ing the wet weather you are having. 



How Many on Two Acres — I have 
two acres of land, of which I will have 
a hundred feet by one hundred feet 
for an alfalfa patch, the rest for 
chickens to run around and have the 
patch for them to feed on for an hour 
or so before going to roost. Kindly 
let me know how many chickens I 
can raise on the two acres at the 
most.— M. J. P. 

Answer — I think you can keep a 
thousand chickens on your two acres. 



You must be careful not to liave more 
than fifty to roost in one house. It 
is the crowded condition of houses at 
night that brings trouble and disease. 
Be sure to give them shade during 
the day and plenty of good fresh wa- 
ter, besides, of course, the balanced 
ration. Allow them two hours a day 
on the alfalfa patch. 



Five Acres — Will you kindly tell me 
how many White Leghorns I can suc- 
cessfully raise on five acres of land? 
I want to grow alfalfa and some vege- 
tables for feed. 

Will you also tell me if I can hatch 
turkeys in an incubator? — J. W. L. 

Answer — You can raise a large 
number of Leghorns on five acres of 
land. I know one party that has 
3,000 Leghorns on three acres, but 
it entirely depends upon knowing how 
to do and doing it right. Better be- 
gin with a small number and when 
you succeed with those, increase your 
flock. 

Turkeys can be hatclied in an in- 
cubator and raised in a brooder, but 
must be kept entirely separate from 
chickens or they will die. 



Yard Room — I want to raise about 
60 pullets for next winter. I have 
about a hundred chicks hatched out. 
All the yard room I can spare is on a 
town lot about 50x75 feet. Do you 
think this would be enough room for 
them?— Mrs. J. F. Y. 

Answer — It all depends upon the 
care you give them; if you can sup- 
ply them with shade, plenty of green 
food, clean water and a good scratch- 
ing place and the proper food, it will 
be plenty large enough. Be sure to 
keep them clean and free from mites 
and lice. 



Burglar Alarm — I refer to the men- 
tion made by you of an electric burg- 



184 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



lar alarm to protect poultry houses, 
and would venture to inquire whether 
such an alarm may be installed by 
one not a professional electrician. 
Upon what principle is it based, and 
what are the materials needed? — 
H. M. 

Answer — I put in the burglar alarm 
you speak of myself. I am not a 
professional electrician, but I went to 
the electrical supply house, bought 



from them the ordinary alarm fixtures 
which are used at the door and win- 
dows of residences; they explained to 
me how to set them, and I did it by 
their directions. I did not find it dif- 
ficult. None of the doors or windows 
in my hennery could be opened four 
inches without the alarm gong at the 
head of my bed, ringing. I should 
think you would have to understand a 
little about it to put them in. 



MATING AND BREEDING 



Age for Mating — I wish to ask if a 
cockerel should be mated after he at- 
tains a year in age or can he just as 
well stay till a year and a half or two 
years old before being mated? 

Also I wish to know if it is quite 
as andvantageous to mate a rooster 
with a pullet of his own clutch, sup- 
posing the pullet and rooster are both 
a year and a half old. I would like to 
do that if you think it advisable. — 
M. S. H. 

Answer — The earliest age at which 
a cockerel may be mated should be 
about ten months, not earlier if you 
want large, vigorous chickens. I con- 
sider the best age for getting sturdy 
chicks is for both parents to be about 
two years of age. You can keep a 
male bird as long as you wish with- 
out mating him, but he should be en- 
tirely out of sight and out of hearing 
of the hens, otlierwise he will fret to 
get to them. I have known several 
to drop down dead from getting too 
much excited at seeing other young 
males in the pens with the hens. 

From a year and a half to three 
years of age is undoubtedly the best 
age at which to mate the fowls, but 
you can have very good results with 
older fowls. In your place I would 
certainly mate the year and a half 
male with the j'ear and a half hen and 
expect good results, for they should 
both be in their prime. 



are all old enough, say a j^ear and a 
half or two years old?— Mrs. G. S. H. 
Answer — It is considered best not 
to mate brother and sister together, 
yet this is always done in making any 
new breed, and as yours comes from a 
three hundred egg a year hen, I would 
advise you to do so. 



Mating Brother and Sister — Is there 
any objection to mating a rooster 
with hens of his own clutch if they 



Breeding — I have a nice R. I. R. 
cockerel. He is good shape and color 
but he is not up to standard weight. 
If I breed from him will he produce 
chicks larger than himself if they 
are well taken care of? Is there any 
cliance of getting perfect specimen 
from fowls under weight? I bought 
some very fine looking hens, but their 
breasts are uneven. I also got eggs 
from the same stock and the pullets 
have crooked breasts. Kindly tell me 
if that trouble will be handed down if 
I breed from them. — Mrs. C. R. 

Answer — As a rule, the chicks take 
their size from the mother. If your 
R. I. R. hens have a good size, the 
chickens will be larger than the cock- 
erel, if you feed them for large frame. 
If the hens are under wciglit and size, 
you may have diflficulty in increasing 
the size of the offspring. Some peo- 
ple think that crooked breastbones 
come from chickens roosting on a 
narrow perch when they are young; 
however, I think it is generally con- 
ceded that crooked breastbones are 
often hereditary. You will know if 
your chickens have roosted at too 
early an age. If not, it is hereditary 
and you had better change the strain. 



MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 



Shipping Young Chicks — Do you 
think I can order eggs incubated 31 
miles from here and have the young 
chicks sent by stage with perfect 
safety? 

We are feeding corn of our own 
growing which is quite musty. I have 
been afraid of it, but so far cannot 
sec that it has hurt them, although 
yesterday a hen sat around all day 
droopy like. I wondered if the musty 
corn affected her. 

Last summer I brought into the 
house some small chicks that seemed 
about to die, and seeing they had lice, 
I dusted them thoroughly with bu- 
hach. The lice soon dropped off of 
them, but the chickens died. Can too 
much powder be put on them? — Mrs. 
C. S. 

Answer — Chickens could travel a 
thousand miles before they are twen- 
ty-four hours old, if packed in a box 
carefully. That is, of course, before 
they are fed. Last year I sent some 
from Los Angeles to Berkeley. They 
were out 36 hours, but arrived in per- 
fect condition, all vigorous and ready 
for their first meal in their new home 
nearly a thousand miles away. 

Musty wheat or corn is very un- 
wholesome for chickens. Buhach 
would not kill the most delicate chick- 
en or turkey, but is death to all in- 
sect life. The chickens were doubt- 
less dying before j^ou powdered them. 



Castor Bean Bushes— I have been 
thinking of planting castor bean 
bushes in the chicken yard for shade, 
but was advised by a neighbor not to 
do it, as the beans would drop off and 
if chickens ate them they would be 
poisoned. Would like your advice, 
please. The bushes grow quickly and 
make good shade, so would like to try 
them. Do you think it would be O.K. 
—J. H. S. 

Answer — Castor beans are poison- 
ous to both ducks and chickens if 
they eat them, so I would advise you 
to plant something else. Get cuttings 
of fig trees, about ten inches long, 
bury the whole length except one 
inch, water well, and you will have 
shade in a few months and fruit in 
two years. I find figs excellent in 
the chicken yard, and the chickens do 
not eat the leaves and bark. Would 



advise your planting also other fruit 
trees, such as plum, peach, apricot. 
The chicken droppings fertilize these 
trees and the quantities of fruit you 
will have will soon repay the trouble. 
In the meantime you might plant 
sunflowers. They make good shade 
and their seed is excellent food for 
the chickens. 



Capons — Will you kindly give us an 
article on capons? What is the de- 
mand for them, if any? What do you 
think of the difference in profits be- 
tween them and broilers? If there is 
any truth in the statements published 
in regard to capons in the Eastern 
markets, they ought to be money- 
makers here. Am fitted for the busi- 
ness, but desire more information in 
that line before attempting much. I 
think the R. I. Reds would make extra 
good ones, and I should like market- 
ing mature birds instead of those a 
few months old. Capons for the 
Philadelphia market have to be a year 
old to command the best prices. — 
H. J. K. 

Answer — Capons bring a good price 
now in Los Angeles, especially if you 
can make a contract with some of the 
large hotels for them. This you can 
only do by having a large and regu- 
lar supply. The price last year was 
from 30c to 3Sc per pound, which is 
a paying price. Broilers pay about 
as well when you take into considera- 
tion that you can turn them off at 
eight weeks of age. This would be 
your better plan, as you are limited 
for space and you would not have 
the expense and trouble of carrying 
them for another ten months. I 
would advise you to sell as broilers 
all the young males you do not wish 
to keep for breeders. This will give 
you more room for the pullets and 
you need space to have your pullets 
develop well for the fall and winter 
egg market. Capons are, undoubted- 
ly, money-makers for those who have 
plenty of space, and where food is 
cheaper than it is here this year. Per- 
sonally I found that capons did not 
pay as well as roasters. These were 
young roosters that were about eight 
months old and that I milk fed. I 
found I had to keep my young males 
until I could see how they would de- 
velop. I began by caponizing, but 



186 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



l)oing economically inclined, I found 
the milk-fed, uncaponizcd eight- 
months 3'oungstcrs paid me best. 
Since then the market for capons has 
improved here, and if you had more 
room and could buy up young cock- 
erels, caponize them at about three 
months of age and turn them ofif in 
the following spring, just when tur- 
keys go out, you might make some 
profit on them. It has been found 
that the Brahmas or crosses of the 
Brahmas are the best for capons. 



same time. Some chickens will eat it 

earlier than others; mine, a large 

breed, usually will take it at three 
weeks. 



From Far Away Alaska — Commenc- 
ing with the first of March for the 
last three years my chickens begin 
to lose their feathers in front of their 
neck. I feed them wheat, corn, shorts, 
cooked potatoes and cabbage. They 
have no lice. I also give them plenty 
of charcoal and grit. I have a chick- 
en house 30 X 30, logs with moss be- 
tween, lined inside with shakes. I 
also keep fire in a stove to keep out 
dampness. — H. C. C, Sumdum, Al- 
aska. 

Answer — Not knowing your climate, 
scarcely like to venture an opinion, 
about the reason for your hens los- 
ing their feathers. Your rations 
seem good, all except there is no ani- 
mal food in it. I think you should 
give them fish with their cooked po- 
tatoes. Do not feel alarmed about 
their losing their feathers, as it may 
be on account of the climate. 



Technical Names — Will you please 
tell me how old "friers," "broilers" 
and "springs" are? When is it safe 
to feed wheat and mash to chicks? — 
Mrs. M. N. 

Answer — It is not by the age that 
we decide upon the size of the chick- 
ens, or their names. "Squab broil- 
ers" weigh one pound and arc usually 
from a small breed, fattened as quick-, 
ly as possible, the age being about 
six or seven weeks. "Broilers" weigh 
from one to two pounds, the age be- 
ing about eight weeks. "Friers" weigh 
from one pound to two and a half 
pounds; age, about ten weeks. Young 
"roasters" from two and a half to 
three or four pounds, age about three 
months. 

I'^cd the wlicat to chicks as soon 
as they will cat it, commencing to 
add it to the cliick feed. I com- 
mence also to add Kaffir corn at the 



Henpecked Husbands— I cannot 
keep my hens from picking the combs 
of the roosters. Could you tell me 
the reason for it? Also a remedy for 
it? I have tried everything I know 
for it. I feed meat twice a week. — 
R. M. 

Answer — This habit or vice usually 
comes from a lack of green food or 
meat in the ration. Very often the 
habit is acquired by imitation and 
thus it may be introduced into a flock 
by a new bird which had contracted 
it elsewhere, or it is spread through 
the flock from a bird which is led to 
it by indigestion or other disease of 
the stomach. It is sometimes started 
by lice. The hen sees one crawling 
on her mate's comb and tries to peck 
at it, wounds the comb, tastes the 
warm sweet blood and keeps up the 
habit. The others imitate her until 
the poor henpecked husband is in a 
sorry plight. The preventive is plenty 
of green food, plentj'^ of exercise and 
animal food. The cure, the hatchet 
for the worst hens, or if they are too 
valuable, let them run without the 
male bird, only admitting him to the 
pen for an hour a day in the after- 
noon. Give the hens a good run in 
a grass-covered yard. Feed plenty of 
green vegetables; onions chopped are 
particularly efficacious. If the yard 
is small, prepare a scratching shed, 
covering the floor deeply with straw 
and scatter grain in the straw for the 
morning meal, so the fowls will be 
compelled to scratch and work to find 
it. Add bi-carbonate of soda to the 
drinking water in the proportion of 
about 20 grains to the quart; put a 
small quantity in the food, or nail up 
a piece of salt pork for the hens to 
peck. 



Will you kindly tell me if painting 
the brooder on the inside with crude 
oil will injure little chicks? 

We have ordered 100 Brown Leg- 
horns for March 15, and have got a 
second-liand brooder. Of course, we 
want it perfectly clean, as we are 
beginners and are striving for success. 
.\ friend of ours gave us five gallons 
of crude oil and insisted on our using 
it, but I thought it wise to ask some 



MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 



187 



one more experienced. Thanking you 
in advance, yours truly, Mrs. G. S. 
McW. 

Answer — I would not advise you to 
paint the inside of your brooder with 
anything as strong as crude oil. It 
will do very well to paint the outside 
of the hen house and the outside of 
the brooder house, and will last for 
several years, preserve the wood and 
keep away vermin, but is too strong 
for the little chicks. 

I will tell you what I would do were 
I in your place. I would take good 
hot suds and a brush, either a whisk 
broom or a scrubbing brush, and thor- 
oughly scrub out the brooder. If I 
thought there were any mites or lice 
in it, I would add a cupful of coal oil 
(kerosene) to the suds. I would then 
put it in the sun to dry, and when it 
was dry I would wash it all over — 
hover, felt and everything — with a so- 
lution of bi-chloride of mercury. You 
can get tablets of it very cheap at any 
drug store. Put about four or six 
tablets in a pint of water and when it 
is dissolved wash all over the brooders 
with it. Or get corrosive sublimate; 
have the druggist dissolve it in alco- 
•hol, and paint that over the inside of 
the brooder. This will destroy all 
germs of any disease or any vermin. 
This way of soapsuds, followed by 
the mercury, is the most perfect dis- 
infectant you can find. It will kill 
tuberculosis, chicken-pox, cholera, 
etc., germs, and has no bad smell to 
injure chicks. 



for the white, enough lime for the 
shell, each in its right proportion. 



How Long? — Would you kindly an- 
swer how long after the eggs have 
started in the hen does it take before 
the hen lays? Thanking you in anti- 
cipation. — W. B. M. 

Answer — As soon as a pullet is 
three months old there will be found 
inside her a bunch of tiny embryo 
eggs. These are called the ovaries or 
egg organs. If the hen is active, in 
good health and properly fed, these 
will, one after another, turn into eggs, 
but the hen must be fed the elements 
of the egg in order for her to make 
the eggs, and it all depends upon the 
food how long it will take the hen to 
accumulate the proper proportion of 
each element to make the eggs, Lhat 
is, the elements of the egg rightly bal- 
anced, enough fat and protein to make 
the yolk, enough albumen and water 



Soft Shell Eggs — Please tell me 
why my chickens and turkeys lay soft 
shell eggs. — R. A. D. 

Soft shell eggs come either from an 
insufficient supply of lime in the ra- 
tions or over stimulation of the egg 
organs by the use of spice or so-called 
egg foods. Worms may increase in the 
intestines to such an extent as to 
stimulate the egg passage to push 
along the egg beyond its usual dis- 
tance. An over fat hen has a ten- 
dency toward laying thin-shelled eggs. 

Dr. Woods gives this advice: 
"Fowls kept closely confined in cold 
weather and not given a sufficient va- 
riety of food are apt to lay soft- 
shelled eggs. The trouble may be due 
to some disturbance of the egg or- 
gans, or to improper food, careless 
feeding and lack of exercise. It us- 
ually responds very promptly to treat- 
ment. See that the birds are supplied 
with plenty of good grit and oyster 
shell. Feed green food, scalded short- 
cut alfalfa or clover. A'lso give cab- 
bage, beets and turnips fed raw when- 
ever they can be obtained. Feed a va- 
riety of good, sound grain and some 
animal food. The grain should be fed 
in the scratching pen." 



Saw Off Long Spurs — I wish a little 
information in regard to a rose-comb 
Rhode Island Red rooster two and a 
half years old. He has very long 
spurs, which makes it difficult for him 
in scratching when I feed them in the 
scratching pen. Is there any way o£ 
taking them off? 

Answer — It is very advisable always 
to cut the long spurs off the male 
birds, as they are very apt to injure 
the hens with them. I find the best 
way is to saw them ofif with a fine 
meat saw about an inch from the leg. 
I do not saw them close enough to 
draw blood. You can also file them 
off, but sawing is quicker, and if the 
edges are rough, use a small file to 
make them smooth. 



Chicken Manure — Please answer 
immediately. How can chicken man- 
ure be preserved, and where can it 
be disposed of, and at what price? 
Answer and oblige, Mrs. M. A. S. 



1! 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



Answer — The easiest way of pre- 
serving chicken droppings is by plac- 
ing dry earth or sand or kainit under 
the perches, sweeping this up two or 
three times a week and placing it in 
barrels or boxes. Anyone with a cit- 
rus orchard is glad to get it for fer- 
tilizing the trees. I know one man 
who pays $7.50 per ton for it. I do 
not know what the market value is, 
but I know that it is considered worth 
just four times as much as stable 
manure and tliat it is a most excellent 
fertilizer. 



Fireless Brooder — I make bold to 
ask you for a little information. Will 
you kindly tell me of the fireless 
brooder? Can you give me the plans 
for constructing one, or tell me where 
I can get the plans? Can little chicks 
just hatched be put in the fireless 
brooder? — Mrs. W. W. G., Arizona. 

Answer — Take a box about ten 
inches deep, and from a foot and a 
half to two feet square. Rip the box 
six inches from the bottom to four 
inches from the top, so there will be 
two boxes, one six inches, the other 
four inches deep without cover. 
Hinge them together so they will 
close as they were before being sawed 
in two. Near the top make three one- 
inch holes in the two ends for venti- 
lation. For the hover make a frame 
of one-and-a-half by one-inch lumber, 
so it will fit inside the box. On the 
under side of this frame tack cloth 
loosely so it will hang in the center 
nearly two inches below the frame. 
The cloth is to touch the chicks' 
backs. Nail cleats across the ends of 
the lower box to hold the frame in 
position. The top of the frame should 
be even with the top edge of the 
lower box. Cut a hole on the oppo- 
site side of the bottom bo.x to the 
hinges, for the chickens to go in and 
out. 

A friend who made this brooder 
tacked a piece of burlap on the floor 
and then filled it almost up to the 
cloth on the frame (the hover) with 
finely cut straw or hay. He then 
scooped out a nest in the center of it 
and put the baby chicks into it. The 
two-foot size is large enough to con- 
tain from one dozen to fifty chicks 
for one week, twenty-five till they are 
three weeks old, and twenty till they 
are six weeks old, or about that age. 
On very cold nights at first he put a 



little piece of blanket on top of the 
hover. As the chicks grew older he 
lessened the amount of straw or chaff, 
when the chicks were large enough 
to raise the heat sufficiently. After 
using this brooder (home made) all 
last winter, he said he would never be 
without it. Personally I think it 
would be a good plan to let in a slide 
of glass at one side, as chickens do 
not like to go into a dark place. I do 
not know where you can get plans for 
making a brooder, but you can buy 
fireless brooders at any of the large 
poultry supply houses advertising in 
this paper. This is Mr. Killifer's 
brooder. 



Dipping Hens — Would you be so 
kind as to write and let me know 
about dipping hens, etc? I have a 
flock of somewhere between five and 
six hundred, i notice some of them 
have lice and bunches of nits on their 
feathers. Whenever I have caught a 
hen I have greased her well, but this 
would take too long to go through 
the bunch. Is there any dip that 
would be strong enough and do no 
harm to the birds that would kill the 
nits with only one dipping? — W. B. 

Answer — As you have so large a 
flock of hens and do not seem able or 
inclined to pull out the feathers that 
have nits upon them, I think you will 
have to dip them twice, with an inter- 
val of five or six days. The nits are 
sure to hatch out in about five days 
after they are deposited by the lice, 
and by twice dipping them you should 
get most of them. It is an excellent 
plan in warm weather just at the com- 
mencement of the moult to immerse 
the fowls in a diluted kerosene emul- 
sion, wetting them thoroughly to the 
skin, or dip them in strong tobacco 
water, or a solution of two per cent 
creolin or chloro naphtholeum. A 
well-known poultryman gives the fol- 
lowing advice: Take the strongest 
and purest tobacco, 25 cents' worth 
being ample to clean oflf three hun- 
dred fowls. Make the decoction quite 
strong. If the user will observe a 
few points, no one will ever regret 
using tobacco to kill lice and not a 
solitary one will be left. ' 

First, if the dipping is done out of 
doors, tlie thermometer sliould be at 
least 80 in the shade; second, the 
water should never be more than 
blood warm, say 98 degrees; third. 



MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 



189 



and this is the most important point, 
every solitary feather must be made 
soaking wet, else you will not make a 
clean job of it. • In dipping all fowls 
having heavy plumage, like the Brah- 
mas and Cochins, the feathers must 
be raised with the hand and the water 
allowed to thoroughly wet the bird to 
the skin. This takes from one to two 
minutes for large, well feathered 
fowls. If a dry feather is left there 
will be lice upon it. Do not dip the 
head under, but when the fowl is 
quiet, dip the head until all is under 
up to the eyes. When they will not 
hold still, use a small sponge and wet 
the top of their heads. No one who 
has fowls troubled with lice need fear 
to try this. It is very effective. 

You must thoroughly clean the 
houses to get rid of the lice, and 
paint the perches with a good lice 
paint or liquid lice killer. 

Give the hens a nice freshly dug up 
dust bath and they will keep them- 
selves clean of lice. You can add one 
of the good lice powders to the dust 
bath if you wish. 



Sulphur for Lice — Have you ever 
had any experience with feeding sul- 
phur to poultry for exterminating 
lice? I have been told that sulphur 
fed to poultry will make their feathers 
smell of sulphur and kill lice. — C. W. 
B. 

Answer — I never heard of applying 
sulphur internally for lice externally. 
It is not impossible, perhaps, that 
feeding sulphur would affect the lice. 
It has a tendency when fed liberally 
to make fowls very susceptible to 
colds. This is said to be because it 
opens the pores of the skin too much. 
If that is correct, there would be ap- 
parently some reason in the idea that 
sulphur taken internally was objec- 
tionable to lice. However, it is better 
to use external applications for these 
parasites. 



Formula for Chick Feed — ^The 
formula for chick feed that you want 
is as follows: 

Chick feed for little chicks from the 
time they are hatched: 30 lbs. cracked 
wheat, 30 lbs. rolled or steel-cut oats, 
15 lbs. finely cracked corn, 10 lbs. 
each of rice, millet, pearl barley, mus- 
tard or rape seed, granulated or 
ground bone, dried blood or granu- 
lated milk, chick grit, 5 lbs. granu- 
lated charcoal. 



Mix and keep always before the 
chicks. Also clean water and skiin 
milk if you have it. Note in the 
chick feed that wheat, oats and 
cracked corn are the chief ingredients. 
The others are to give a variety, and 
if you cannot get them, you just will 
have to leave them out. The bone 
and the dried blood are the animal 
part of the ration and can be substi- 
tuted by fresh meat or milk or clab- 
ber or cottage cheese. 

A formula for laying hens which I 
have used for years is: Two meas- 
ures of bran, one measure of alfalfa 
meal, one measure of beef scraps, and 
in the breeding season one measure 
of oatmeal or rolled oats. This mix- 
ture can be used as a dry mash or 
mixed with water as a moist (but not 
sloppy) mash. I add a little pepper 
and salt to it to season it. 

At moulting time I also add a quar- 
ter of a measure of linseed meal, or, 
if I cannot get that, half a measure 
of cottonseed meal, and sometimes a 
little tonic to help on the moult. The 
linseed meal gives a gloss to the new 
feathers that nothing else will give. 
The hens should have before them all 
the time good, sharp grit and oyster 
shells crushed. The oyster shells is 
to supply the lime to make the egg 
shell. 



Broken Down Hen — There are two 
things I am anxious to know and I 
think you can help me from your ex- 
perience. I have a hen whose hind 
part has been gradually swelling until 
now it nearly touches the ground. 
The feathers have all dropped out of 
her head. I think an egg may have 
been broken inside, but she seems so 
healthy that hardly seems possible. 
Please state cure, if any. — G. F. M. 

Answer — Your hen has what we 
call a "break down." This is the re- 
sult of a too fattening diet or too 
much corn, and too little of the mus- 
cle, bone forming and egg elements. 
There is a large fat deposit in the 
abdomen, bulging and dragging down 
the skin and muscles, giving an un- 
gainly appearance to the bird. It is 
a question whether to diet her or to 
eat her. I would advise the latter, as 
she will not prove a very good layer 
after this. The bareness of head also 
indicates an unbalanced ration and an 
insufficiency of "protein," the feather 
making element. A little carbolated 



190 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



vaseline rubbed in twice a week and 
more green food and more animal 
food in the ration will rectify this. 

For Layers. — Will you please an- 
swer the following questions: Will 
hens lav as well without the male 
bird? 

Which would you advise me to keep 
for breeders, pullets hatched last 
spring, which are laying now, or the 
one-year-old hens? 

Which is the best feed for them 
to produce eggs, the warm mash in 
the morning and corn at night or the 
dry feed?— Mrs. O. G. L. 

Answer — 1. Yes, and the eggs will 
keep better. 

2. Keep hens for motlicrs and pul- 
lets for 3'our winter layers is the best 
rule. 

3. I prefer to give the mash, if I 
give any, at night; then I can use 
up the table scraps, mixing them with 
bran, corn meal and alfalfa meal, giv- 
ing the fowls either dry mash in hop- 
pers or grain in their scratching pen, 
to induce them to exercise for their 
day meal. In this way I get more 
eggs. 



Testing Out Infertile Eggs. — I note 
in the paper an advertisement for an 
egg-tester whicli claims that it is pos- 
sible to test out the infertile eggs be- 
fore setting. Will you please tell me 
if you think this is possible? — Mrs. 
J. F. Y. 

Answer — The advertisement which 
you mention was misleading. The 
way in which it tested the eggs was 
by floating them with the instrument 
in water; if they proved heavy enough 



to sink to a certain depth it showed 
that the egg was rich enough to sup- 
port the life of a chick, should there 
be a germ in that egg. The machine 
could not show wdiether there was a 
germ in the egg, consequently it could 
not show if the egg was fertilized or 
not. The little germ is so infinitesi- 
mally small that it would make no 
appreciable difference in the weight of 
the egg. 



Packing Eggs for Hatching. — Will 

3-ou kindly answer the following: 

1. How long can one keep eggs 
for setting? 

2. How is the best way to ship 
eggs for setting so they will not get 
broken?— Mrs. C. D. D. 

Answer — 1. You can keep your 
eggs three weeks or even more by 
turning them everj^ day, but you must 
remember that the longer you keep 
tliem the fewer will hatch and they 
will not be as vigorous chicks as if 
the eggs had been fresh when set. 

2. You can now get egg boxes 
made for packing eggs for express- 
ing or you can pack them in common 
slat baskets or peach baskets. I real- 
ly prefer the baskets. I put a layer 
of excelsior in the bottom of the bas- 
ket, then wrap each egg in a piece 
of newspaper about six inches square; 
set tlieni little end down, packing ex- 
celsior between them, then put a lay- 
er of excelsior on the top, and cov- 
er with burlap, sewing it into the 
basket with twine. Mark plainly, 
"Eggs for hatching, handle with care." 
In the many thousands of eggs I have 
sent out, only two baskets had any 
broken eggs. 



TURKEY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 



Tomatoes for Turkeys — I am feed- 
ing my turkeys a small ration of ripe 
tomatoes. Is this a proper food for 
them?— W. F. G. 

Answer — A small amount of ripe 
tomatoes will not do your turkeys 
any harm. They are very fond of 
them, and it will benefit them, al- 
though there is very little nourish- 
ment in the tomatoes; the acidity 
seems to agree with them. 



Turkeys Have Chicken-Pox — What 
is the matter with my young turkeys. 



and what shall I do for them? All 
over their heads and bills tliere are 
lumps forming like warts. Some of 
them have just a few while others 
have their lieads covered with them. 
The turkeys are about half grown 
They are not penned up and have 
l)lcnty of green alfalfa. We feed 
wheat and meat scraps occasionally. — 
Miss M. M. 

Answer — Your turkeys have cliick- 
en-pox. The cure is to apply car- 
bolic salve, or carbolated vaseline. In 
three days bathe the affected parts 



TURKEY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 



191 



with warm soapsuds in which are a 
few drops of carbolic acid, and again 
apply the salve". Add a little sulphur 
to their food. This will hasten the 
cure. They should be cured in a little 
over a week. Be sure to separate all 
the fowls affected from the flock. 
This will prevent the spreading of 
the disease. 



Turkeys Lame^Will you kindly tell 
me what to do for my turkeys? My 
early hatches did fine, but of the late 
hatch, four of them were troubled with 
stiff legs, one died, and one got well, 
but the other two are still lame, the 
knee joints are swollen and kind of 
pink color. Their appetities are good. 
— K. C. 

Answer — -Your turkeys have rheu- 
matism. This comes from their liver 
being affected, by cold or damp wea- 
ther. Give each of the affected tur- 
keys a small liver pill, followed by a 
one-grain quinine pill every day for a 
week. Bathe the knee joints with the 
following: One cup of vinegar, one 
cup of turpentine, one heaping table- 
spoon of saltpeter. Mix, keep in a 
bottle, shake before using. I think 
.this will cure them. Be careful not 
to give them any corn or corn meal, 
and give plenty of lettuce. 



General Care of Turkeys — I would 
like to ask a few questions about tur- 
keys. You mentioned raising them 
in a brooder. 1. How warm should 
one have the brooder when the poults 
are first put in? 2. At the end of 
the first week what should the tem- 
perature be lowered to? 3. Is al- 
falfa meal necessary or of any benefit 
to little poults or to little chicks if 
they have all the green barley they 
will eat, cut fine? — A Beginner. 

Answer — The heat under the hover 
should be about 95. The reason I say 
"about" is that on a very warm, sun- 
ny day it might be a little lower, but 
should the outside temperature be 
cold or the weather damp and 
gloomy, it might be up to 95 for the 
best results. 2. About 85, depend- 
ing somewhat on the outside air and 
v/eather. Gradually lower the tem- 
perature till you get it to 70 or 80, 
according to the weather. 3. No! 
Little turkeys require the succulent 
green, not the dried hay, ground up. 
Give them lettuce chopped up at first 
with every meal; then either lettuce, 



dandelion leaves, onion tops chopped 
fine, or cabbage or the tender leaves 
of laeets. Any green vegetable that 
3^ou would eat yourself will do and 
also the green barley as long as it is 
succulent and tender. Barley soon 
gets tough and hard and then it not 
suitable for the little turkeys. 



Keep Separate from Chicks — Will 
you kindly give me some information 
concerning newly hatched turkeys? 
We have two hens and a toni. Would 
you advise keeping them away from 
chickens?— Mrs. C. B. 

Answer — -Little turkeys do much 
better when kept away from chickens. 
They require, or do better, on differ- 
ent food, and when very young re- 
quire to be kept quiet, whilst the 
chicks like to scratch and rustle. 
Turkeys move more slowly and need 
rest and quiet. Then, again corn, 
Kaffir corn and corn meal suit chick- 
ens, but ferment inside the little tur- 
keys and give them diarrhoea, which 
is often fatal. Let the turkey mothers 
take care of the little turkeys and 
give them grass or alfalfa to run on 
and they will do well. 



Turkeys — I am glad if I have been 
able to help you with your turkeys, 
and will try to reply to your ques- 
tions, but I wish you could give your 
turkeys free range as they are the 
Bronze, for that most beautiful breed 
is nearer to the wild than any other 
and, therefore, need more than any, 
a good wide free range to keep them 
healthy. A turkey on the range eats 
a few seeds, then sees an insect, may- 
be a grasshopper, and chases after 
that, which is good exercise. After 
a run he finds perhaps a nice little 
pebble or a few green leaves or twigs, 
and so on. He only eats a very little 
at a time and exercises between each 
mouthful and this is the way a tur- 
key should eat. The nearer we can 
come to copying nature in feeding 
turkeys, the better success we shall 
have. Now, with this prelude I will 
try to answer your questions to the 
best of my ability. 

1. How much grain and what kinds 
should I feed? 2. Should I give 
them bran and beef scraps? 3. Or 
do you prefer granulated milk? 
4. How much of the milk should they 
have? 5. Should I feed more than 



192 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



twice a day? 6. Is there any food 
which should be always before them? 
—Mrs. C. F. S. 

Keeping twenty young three- 
month-old turkeys yarded is a very 
serious proposition, unless your yard 
is an unusually large one with plenty 
oi shade and sunshine. 1. Wheat is 
the best grain for turkeys until about 
two or three weeks before you want 
to kill them, then you can add corn. 
2. You can give bran and beef scraps 
but, 3. I prefer granulated milk and 
bran, as it seems to agree better with 
the turkeys. 4. About an ounce each 
per day. 5. Twice a day is consid- 
ered about right for yarded turkeys. 
6. Turkeys need plenty of fresh, 
green succulent food, such as clover 
lawn clippings or lettuce, swiss chard, 
beet tops, cabbage or the curly kale. 
They must have green food to do 
well and should have all they can 
eat of it, and grain only twice a day. 
Almost any kind of fruit or nuts or 
olives suits them. It you want to 
leave any food always before them 
you might leave a box of granulated 
milk and another of bran. Always 
keep charcoal, grit and granulated 
bone before them. If you had a wal- 
nut orchard in which they could roam 
I would say leave a box of wheat 
where they can get to it and they will 
not over eat; they will roam away 
and only go to it when hungry, but 
in a yard with nothing to occupy or 
interest them, I think the bran would 
be better. Give them at least three 
or four times a week, onions chopped 
up and mixed with dry bran. The 
onions are a wonderful tonic to liver 
and kidneys and will do more to help 
you keep the turkeys healthy than 
anything. They are also a preventive 
to intestinal worms and roup. Fresh, 
clean water as cool as possible is also 
a necessity. 



Turkeys — I have just moved into 
this valley, on a 120-acre farm and 
want to raise turkeys. Now, is the 
White Holland as good to raise for 
market as the Bronze, if so, do you 
have their eggs to sell? If you do 
not have them, will you please send 
me the address of someone who does. 
Also the address of someone who has 
tlie Bronze? Do you have Guinea 
fowls, and if so what do you charge 
for a setting of eggs; if you do not 
keep them will you give me the ad- 



dress of someone who does? I also 
want to ask you if you think it will 
pay to raise geese for the feathers, 
if so, what kind is best? And where 
can I get the eggs? We have plenty 
of alfalfa and plenty of water. — Mrs. 
S. E. S. 

Answer — White Holland turkeys 
will do equally well with the Bronze. 
They are not quite as heavy when 
two years old; they are smaller 
boned; but I have had them at six 
months weighing eighteen to twenty- 
two pounds, which size is preferred 
on the market to any larger. The 
White Holland seem to stand hot cli- 
mate exceedingly well and they do 
not roam as far as the Bronze. I 
will try and send you a list of breed- 
ers of both kinds. There are, how- 
ever, quite a number of persons in the 
interior valley breeding turkeys, and 
my advice to you would be to get 
the eggs from two or three dififerent 
parties near you. I saw a large flock 
at El Centro, and heard of others at 
Imperial, Thermal and Coachella. 

The Guineas do not begin to lay 
here before April; if you will write to 
me then I may be able to give you 
the address of farmers having some. 

I think it would pay to raise geese. 
As they are grazing animals they re- 
quire very little grain and will live 
almost entirely upon alfalfa. But they 
must have plenty of grit as well as 
crushed shell to make egg shell. 
There is not grit enough in the soil 
of Imperial valley for domestic fowls 
of any kind. 

The Toulouse geese are usually the 
most popular. They are gray and 
white. I like the Embden; they are 
the same size but are pure white. I 
will send you the address of a party 
keeping the Toulouse geese and will 
try to find out where you can get the 
Embden. 



A Lack of Green Food — I have a 
tom turkey that is sick. He was a 
year old last May and about six weeks 
ago he would not eat. He did not 
look sick, and would strut and gobble 
a little, but did not eat. I gave him 
Carters' liver pills and he soon got 
all right. About a week ago he be- 
gan to get off his feed again, and I 
at once began to doctor him. Have 
given him liver pills and germazone, 
but he has not eaten anything since 
last Wednesday. Can you tell me 



TURKEY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 



193 



what ails him and what to do for him? 
He is a very valuable bird and I am 
anxious to have him get well. His 
usual feed is 'bran, barley meal, al- 
falfa meal and beef scrap in the morn- 
ing and wheat and Kaffir corn at 
night, with plenty of grit and oyster 
shell.— Mrs. G. H. B. 

Answer — I think your turke> re- 
quires more green food than you are 
giving him as you only mention al- 
falfa meal. Give him now, a quinine 
pill (two grains) every night for a 
week. Add charcoal and chopped on- 
ions to his mash in the morning, and 
plenty of green food once or twice a 
day. Give him as large a range as 
possible, or if you cannot give him 
range, let him out on your own lawn 
for two hours before sundown. What 
he needs is fresh green food and 
chopped onions for the liver tonic. 



up the trees to the turkeys. Pour a 
little stream of crude petroleum at 
the foot of the trees to keep off the 
ticks. 



Turkey's Chickenpox — I have some 
young turkeys several months old. 
On the heads of some are round 
things like warts; on one they are 
sore looking and are also on each 
knee-joint of the legs. The turkeys 
don't appear sick. We have rubbed 
the heads with axle-grease, as once 
before that seemed to help. What is 
the cause of this disease? How can 
one cure or prevent it and are the 
fowls good for food if they recover? 

My turkeys have free range and 
have had plenty of animal food in the 
shape of bugs, etc., all summer, also 
of course, green food in as large a 
quantity as they cared for. I have 
only fed them wheat. Chicken ticks, 
these flat bugs, are bad here, but the 
turkeys roost outside, so should not 
be bothered much. — M. A. 

Answer — Your turkeys have chick- 
enpox. It comes from a microbe 
which gains entrance under the skin 
from some slight abrasion, such as a 
scratch, or the bite of an insect. It 
is very prevalent during the fall, but 
except in the case of very young 
chickens, is easily curable, and the 
remedies you are using will effect a 
speedy cure. 

Carbolic salve, or carbolized vase- 
line is the usual cure — or you can 
wash the spots in hot soapsuds to get 
off the scab and then grease just only 
the spots. The carbolic acid in the 
salve kills the microbe. The turkeys 
are perfectly fit for food. You had 
better be sure the ticks do not crawl 



Turkeys — Will you kindly tell how 
to raise little turkeys without any 
milk, or can't it be done? We value 
your writing very much. — H. D. C. 

Answer — The milk that we use in 
feeding little turkeys, either as plain 
skim milk for them to drink or as a 
curd for them to eat, is given be- 
cause it is found to be the best substi- 
tute for the insects that would be Na- 
ture's diet for the little turkeys. The 
next best substitute is hard boiled 
eggs and after that ground-up meat, 
either raw or cooked. 

Here in Los Angeles we can get 
the granulated and the dried milk and 
these make a good feed, both for tur- 
keys and chickens. I should think 
you could get either of these at the 
poultry supply houses in Santa Cruz. 



Sick Gobbler — I write again in re- 
gard to a fine gobbler. He was 
hatched last May. He has been sick 
about ten days. Just sits around and 
does not walk much. Eats very little, 
and his droppings are nearly all white 
and small in quantity. His food has 
been rolled barley, wheat, and we 
have nine acres in green barley. He 
has plenty of clean, pure water and 
is not lousey, as I dust my turkeys 
with insecticide every week. When 
he first drooped around I gave him 
some liver pills, but he does not get 
much better. I hope you may be able 
to tell me something that will help 
him as I should feel very badly to 
lose him.— Mrs. S. H. J. 

Answer — I would advise you first 
to stop dusting that gobbler with in- 
sect powder, as it may be disagreeing 
with him. Secondly, I would give 
him small liver pills, and at the same 
time, for at least a week, a pill of 
one or two grains of quinine every 
night. Also notice his droppings, if 
possible, because he may have in- 
testinal worms, although the symp- 
toms are more like kidney trouble. 



Tapeworm in Turkeys — ^I have over 
100 turkeys that seem to be healthy 
but do not grow as they should. I 
find now they are full of long worms. 



194 



MRS. P.ASLEVS WESTERN TOULTRY ROOK 



I)rol)ably tape worms. What shall I 
do?— Mrs. L. B. D. 

Answer — If your turkeys have tape- 
worms, the best remedy I know is 
male-fern (fclix mas). It may be 
used in the form of a powder; (dose 
thirty grains to one dram) or of liquid 
extract (dose fifteen to thirty drops). 
It should be given in the morning and 
evening before feeding. Oil of tur- 
[)cntine is an excellent remedy for the 
common round worm; dose one to 
tliree teaspoonsful in an equal amount 
of castor oil. Feeding stewed garlic 
or raw onions will help tlie cure. 



Shipping Turkeys^Can turkey eggs 
be hatclied successfuly in an incuba- 
tor or are they more apt to die? 
W'ill it hurt the little turkeys to be 
carried on the car any great distance? 
—Mrs. A. P. 

Answer — Turkey eggs can be 
hatclied in an incul)ator, if you don't 
mix them with other eggs, other- 
wise the}' do better under the hen. 
They can be raised in brooders, and 
it will not hurt them to travel on the 
cars if they do not get chilled. 



How Many Toms? — I want to ask 
ycut liow many turkey toms I ?houkl 
have for 24 hens. I have two fine 
toms weighing about 22 pounds each. 
Their beards are well developed and 
I hey appear to be very good birds. 
Will those two be enough for 24 
liens?— Mrs. C. B. L. 

Answer — It really would be better 
to have three toms, but under the cir- 
cumstances I would rather risk hav- 
ing two good toms than to buy a 
tliird of unknown quality. 

The rule is one yearling torn to ten 
liens. One tom will do for twenty 
liens some times, but ten hens is about 
the best number. 



Liver Trouble — -We are in trouble 
with our little turkeys, and woulc^ 
like to ask you to help us. They were 
fine, strong fellows until a few days 
ago, when four of them suddenly 
died. I just noticed two of them, a 
little droopy in the afternoon, and 
four were dead the next morning. 
There was the slightest toucli of 
diarrhoea noticeable, and I immediate- 
ly put a little germazone in their 
water, and they have had it for sev- 
eral days. They have no signs of it 
now, but four more died last 
night, and several others are droop- 
ing. We made an examination this 
morning and found the liver all 
blotched and spotted all over in dark 
rings. That is all we could find 
wrong. The gizzard was healthy and 
full of grit and seemed perfect and 
in order. — Mrs. A. H. 

Answer — The spotted liver is all 
that killed them. It denotes conges- 
tion of the liver. This is usually 
brought on by wrong feeding, or over- 
feeding, but it also comes from their 
taking cold; eitlier from being too 
warm at night, under the chicken hen, 
getting them hot and sweaty, and 
then coming out in the morning into 
the cool, foggy air, which gives them 
a sudden chill. This would affect the 
liver, and make even the proper food- 
disagree with them. They may take 
cold and get a chill affecting the liver, 
from running in damp alfalfa; or the 
cliicken hen may drag them about and 
make the exercise too much, and this 
also would weaken their liver and 
make them susceptible to cold, which 
would affect their liver. I can only 
give you these suggestions, as I do 
not know all your conditions. One of 
the best remedies for diarrhoea in 
both cliickcns and little turkeys, is 
rice boiled in milk, with a tablespoon- 
ful of ground cinnamon to every pint 
of milk. Rice given even dry will 
help in a case of this kind. 



ABOUT DUCKS 



Duck Eggs vs. Hen Eggs — What 
difference, if any, should there be in 
running an incubator with duck eggs 
from hen eggs? I am very success- 
ful with hen eggs but never succeed- 
ed very well with duck eggs; the 
same eggs hatch 90 per cent under a 
hen, and the first test from the incu- 
bator is about 90 per cent and then 
they die in the shell. — J. W. L. 

Answer — Duck eggs require differ- 
ent treatment than the hen eggs. Af- 
ter the first test when you take- them 
out to turn them, sprinkle them every 
day with warm water. Leave them 
out a few minutes to partially dry off, 
fan the stale air out of the incubator 
and then replace them. By this 
means I think you will have a better 
hatch. Duck eggs require more dry- 
ing out than hen eggs and yet the 
shell must be dampened to make it 
brittle. Putting water into the incu- 
bator does, not do as well as sprink- 
ling. 



Food— Good and Bad— 1. Would 
lettuce make good greens to sow in 
runways for Indian Runner ducks? 

2. Will some whole wheat hurt 
them if they are provided with grit? 

3. At what age should ducks 
hatched in March commence laying? 

4. Will beef suet and chopped 
fresh beef do to feed them? — Mrs. 
F. H. 

Answer — 1. Lettuce is good for all 
fowls and would be good for the 
ducks as long as it lasts, but I am 
afraid the little fellows would soon 
pull it all up. 

2. Whole wheat is not as good for 
little ducks as bran and corn meal. 
See article in this book. 

3. Indian Runners liatched in 
March will commence laying in Sep- 
tember. 

4. Beef suet is not the food for 
ducks, but if you want to fatten them, 
you might add a little of it to their 
mash. 



Indigestion — What is wrong with 
my ducks? They are almost full 
grown, and they turn over on their 
backs and are unable to get up; they 
are very weak; their eyes scale over 
and some of them have died. They 
act very much like chickens with the 



roup, only they do not swell around 
the head.— Mrs. J. G. C. 

Answer^Your ducks are suffering 
from indigestion and also from their 
heads being stopped up. The indi- 
gestion comes partly from their not 
having sufficient sand with their food, 
and their heads being stopped up, 
comes from the drinking vessel not 
being deep enough so they can rinse 
their nostrils out many times during 
the day. If you remedy these two 
causes of trouble in the duck yard 
and feed them properly, giving but 
little whole grain, I think they will 
soon recover. 

Incubator Ducks — We want to 
know the proper way to operate an in- 
cubator to hatch ducks. I have had 
fairly good luck hatching chickens but 
not with my ducks. I got only 40 out 
of 112 fertile eggs, and this time we 
should like to have a few directions 
to go by. 

Do they require as much as chick- 
ens as to moisture; do you sprinkle, 
also how often, and as to airing the 
eggs, what time of day and how long 
do you advise to leave the machine 
open; how often do you test the 
eggs? — Mrs. W. 

Answer — -Duck eggs require quite 
as much heat as those of the chickens; 
they require more airing. Should be 
sprinkled with warm water once the 
first week, twice the second and every 
day thereafter, but do not put any 
water in the pans. Sprinkling the 
eggs helps to make the shells more 
brittle so the ducks will get out 
easier. Test the 5th day and again 
about once every week to take out 
the dead germs, as they putrify and 
are injurious to the rest. When you 
air the eggs, which you should do 
twice a day, that is every twelve 
hours, fan the stale air out of the in- 
cubator and then close up. Com- 
mence to air the eggs when you com- 
mence to turn them, that is 48 hours 
after they have been in the machine. 
The air space in the egg should be at 
the large end. I think if you follow 
the directions from the maker of the 
machine, and these hints, you will 
have a good hatch. 



To Secure Fertility — I am starting 
to raise Indian Runner ducks and 



196 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



want to ask you how many ducks to 
put with one drake of this variety, so 
as to secure the highest possible fer- 
tility of eggs without keeping unnec- 
essary drakes? I have a flock of 20 
ducks and within a few days will be 
ready to start my incubator, so if you 
will kindly reply as soon as possible, 
I will be very much obliged to you.— 
L. F. R. 

Answer — The number of Indian 
Runner ducks to one drake is ten. 
This has been found to be the best 
number for Indian Runners, although 
you can mate fifteen ducks to one 
drake and have good fertility. I 
want, however, to warn you that the 
eggs are not nearly so fertile in the 
fall and winter as they are in the 
spring, so you must not be disap- 
pointed if at least half of the eggs are 
infertile at this time of the year. To 
increase the fertility, would advise 
you to increase the amount of animal 
food you are feeding. You can tell in 
five days of incubation whether the 
eggs are fertile and those that are not 
fertile should be removed from the 
incubator and can be used for cook- 
ing or eating. They are merely in- 
fertile eggs that have been kept in a 
warm place for five days, and are 
better tlian most store eggs. 



Weight at Ten Weeks— Will you 

please inform me what weight most 
of the duck men can put on Indian 
Runner ducks at ten weeks? — I. L. R. 
Answer — Indian Runners at ten 
weeks of age weigh as much as do 
the Pekins at that time, namely, about 
eight pounds per pair. They should 
be sent to market at from eight to ten 
weeks of age. After that the pin 
feathers develop, making them very 
hard to pick. I think you will be 
greatly pleased with the ducks when 
you try them. Their flesh is very de- 
licious, fine grained and the bones 
are small. They have very much the 
flavor of the canvas-back, and I have 
heard, are sometimes sold instead of 
them. They are also the greatest 
layers of any known fowl; the eggs 
are white and very delicious, with no 
strong taste like the eggs of other 
varieties of ducks. 



Feeding for Eggs — I bouglit some 
Indian Runner ducks, thirty-six in 
all, and six drakes. They were lay- 



ing up to the middle of December; 
since that time have layed none. I 
feed them about everything that 
would come from a first-class hotel 
— bread, meat, oat and corn-meal 
mush, all kinds of vegetable and fruit. 
Three times a week I mix cracked 
corn and bran. I feed in the morn- 
ing, twelve quarts, same amount at 
night. They have access to plenty 
of running water and keep perfectly 
clean. The pen is covered with for- 
est leaves that makes it warm. What 
I want to know is, am I feeding right 
for laying later on? Is it customary 
to pick them? Does it affect their 
laying? I have over two hundred 
eggs engaged at 10 cents a piece. I 
want to raise all I can the coming 
season. — J. W. A. 

Answer — I think that your hotel 
waste may have rather more bread in 
it tlian is good for egg production. 
Indian Runner ducks usually stop lay- 
ing in October, commencing again in 
December, and getting into full lay in 
February. The best time for hatcli- 
ing Indian Runners is from the first 
of February to the end of July; the 
eggs are very fertile at such time. It 
may be that you are fattening the 
ducks too much, as over-fat ducks do 
not lay well. They require much 
more animal food than chickens. In 
their wild state they live on grasses, 
fish, frogs and insects, with but very 
little grain. If you think they are 
getting too much bread, j'ou might 
save some of it for chickens, and in- 
crease the amount of meat; keep 
them well supplied with coarse sand, 
grit and crushed oyster shells. 

Picking the ducks afifects their lay- 
ing, and it greatly prevents the 
drakes from being fertile. While 
they are moulting the eggs are never 
fertile. 

Eggs, Goose and Duck — I would 
like to know what care duck and geese 
eggs should have when a hen is sitting 
on them instead of the goose or duck. 
Also, what feed should they have 
when first hatched? — Mrs. J. A. P. 

Answer — Goose and duck eggs re- 
quire more heat and a longer period of 
incubation than hens' eggs. Five 
goose eggs are sufficient to place un- 
der a hen, and be sure that she turns 
the eggs every day or the gosling will 
be a cripple. The goose eggs are 
heavy for a hen to turn, and for this 
reason, and also because they require 



GEESE 



197 



more heat, the hen should not have 
more than five to care for. From nine 
to eleven duck eggs are the number, 
for the same reasons, that should be 
given to a hen. 

Goose eggs require thirty days of 
incubation; duck eggs twenty-eight. 
Hens are apt to desert them towards 
the last and should be watched, as 
they get tired of waiting for their 
chicks to come out. I also have had 
hens that were so much afraid of the 
queer, green looking babies they 
hatched out that they would kill them. 
They seem to know that they are not 
proper chickens. I feed the little geese 
hard-boiled eggs, chopped fine, and 
cracker crumbs moistened with water, 
and sprinkle a little sand on the food. 
This is the first food. The next day 
they get the same, with lettuce 
chopped fine. After this I add break- 
fast oats with it and bran. As early 
as possible I put the geese out on the 
lawn, take the hen away from them 
and put them into a box in the wood- 
shed or kitchen, if the nights are coul, 
or if I am afraid of cats or other 
marauders. They do not require heat 
after a few days, sometimes not after 
the first day. It depends upon the 
weather. 

Geese are the easiest of fowls to 
raise. They are a grazing bird and 
must have a pasture of something 
green to graze on. When young they 
should not have whole grain, but a 
mash of bran and corn meal with a 



little animal food in it, and always 
grass or alfalfa to graze on. 

Ducks do well treated in the same 
way, remembering to give them a lit- 
tle sand with each meal. 



Died in the Shell— I had two hens 
sitting on duck eggs and the ducks 
all died in the shell. The eggs were 
pipped, but it seemed as though the 
ducks could not get out. I dipped the 
eggs the last six days in lukewarm 
water once a day. I opened two eggs 
and there was jelly around the ducks. 
Could you kindly let me know why 
and how it is, as I have two more 
hens setting? — Mrs. C. F. N. 

Answer — Sprinkle your ducks eggs, 
if the weather is warm and dry, three 
times a week after the first week; let 
the water be just as hot as you can 
bear your hand in, and sprinkle it out 
of a little sprinkling pot or use a 
whisk broom to sprinkle the eggs with 
as you would clothes for ironing; 
leave the eggs damp for the hen to 
go on them. This is better than float- 
ing them in the water. Little ducks 
can be easily helped out of the eggs 
and still live and be strong; if they 
seem slow in hatching, bring them 
into the house and put a warm damp 
flannel around them and place at the 
back of the kitchen stove, and I think 
they will then come out without as- 
sistance; if not, help them out. 



GSKSK 



Geese — I have a few geese and just 
lately they have started to lay; gather 
from four to six daily. Do you think 
by turning them daily I might save 
them up for incubation? About what 
degree should be kept up for them? 
I put seven eggs under a hen. Would 
you also tell me what should baby 
geese be fed? — ^J. W. 

Answer — You can keep geese eggs, 
by turning them every day, for three 
weeks. They take thirty days to in- 
cubate. The incubator should be 
about 102j^ for the first week and 
103 afterwards. Five eggs is plenty 
to put under a hen. See instructions 
in this book for hatching duck eggs 
in an incubator. Treat goose eggs in 
the same way. Feed baby geese the 



same as baby ducks for the first week, 
gradually adding chopped lettuce un- 
til at least half their food is green food. 
Geese are grazing animals and require 
plenty of green, succulent food. They 
arc very easy to raise and do not re- 
quire brooder heat more than a few 
days. 



Toulouse Geese — First, I have a few 
geese. I had eight Toulouse goslings. 
I fed them boiled eggs, bread crumbs, 
oatmeal (dry), and sometimes clabber 
cheese with a lot of fine cut grass and 
young rye from the rye patch, as I 
have no lettuce yet, plenty of gravel 
and a pan of water, but they all die 
from a week to three weeks of age. 



198 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN TOULTRY BOOK 

Now what is the cause and what can day. when they should have nothing 

1 i.\o to raise the others, as I hate to at all to eat. they should he turned 

K)se them so bad. — Mrs. J. B. M. out on the grass or on a clover lawn. 

Answer — You feed your j'oung From the very first they must have 

geese wrong. Geese are grazing ani- grass or clover to crop from. After 

inals and need grass or young tender tlie first week leave the food where; 

clover to eat. Next time you have they can get it all the time and they 

any give them bran (three cups full) will feed themselves without any 

anil corn meal (one cup full) moist- trouble. Geese are the easiest of all 

oned with water, with a teaspoonful of fowls to raise. They must not have 

sand sprinkled over it. This should water to swim in until they have their 

be fed evorv two hours, after the first mature feathers. 



We Carry in Stock Almost Everything 

Mrs. Basley Recommends 

In Her Neiv Poultry Book 
Price $1,00 

LOS ANGELES INCUBATORS 

Make Record Breaking Hatches and are guaranteed Best 
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Thermometers 

Leg Bands 

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Ground Bone 
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Bird Seed 



Send for Free Catalogue 



HENRY ALBERS CO. 



845 S. Spring St. 



Los Angeles, Cal, 




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"Huskins" White Wyandottes 

and 

White Orpingtons 

Kellerstrass Strain 

The GRANDEST UTILITY and FANCY 
^^: Breeds on record to-day. They are the Big 
Winter Layers, quick growing, and make the 
WINNINGS, 1910 finest Broilers of any breeds known. 

Wyandoiies 

1st Cockerel 4th Cockerel . ■■« r t w t<-i w^ v m. t<~i 

o..K:i^" '''"'''^' A. W. HUSKINS 

'''""six^Eatries^'" 713 WateHoo St. (Dept. B) Los Angeles, Cal. 




700 REDS 
20 BREEDING PENS 



HAYES, R. B. 

Rhode Island Red Specialist 

Our birds win their share of the prizes on this coast and are from Eastern 

stock that have been line bred for fifteen years and win in New York and 

Boston. Visitors at our yards say they are the best flock of Reds they 

have ever seen. 

PHONE EAST 1631 

Box 35, Garvanza Station 

Yards in Arroyo 

Opposite Ostrich Farm LOS ANGELES, CAL. 

^ White. Wyandottes 

, I am ready when you are ready, to supply j^ou 

with stock and eggs from 

STERLING WHITE WYANDOTTES 

while my stock is of the best quality, my prices 

are always reasonable. I will feel highly 

honored to receive your favors 

S P MOOPF 

Owned by S. p. Moore *^^» ' • ' 'V^^'V^^rvl— 

958 Spence St. 

Los Angeles. Cal. 953 Spence St. - Los Angeles, Cal 




METAL INCUBATORS AND BROODERS 

The demand (or a practical, simple and inexpensive hatclier and a closer study of the 
principles underlying the natural process of incubation has enabled us, after twenty years 
of practical experience in incubating and brooding, to place on the market the Cycle 
Hatcher, which has been thoroughly tested out during the past five years and which we 
believe more closely follows natural methods than any other form of incubator heretofore 
produced. 

All the necessary essentials are provided; a warm nest, a cover to take the place of the 
hen and the means of supplying a sufficient quantity of fresh air, at the same time retaining 
the natural moisture contained in the egg and preventing its escape. The heater being 
circular in shape, with the lamp directly in the center, insures an even distribution of heated 
air in all parts of the machine, with no corners for dead air spaces. 

Eggs to hatch well must be newly laid, and where the number produced is small, they 
will not be as fresh when several hundred or more are placed in one incubator as when set 
more often in separate machines. We make only one size machine, holding fifty eggs, and 
for large hatches the required number of machines are used. By having the eggs in smaller 
units they can be more easily controlled and there is never the danger of having the entire 
hatch ruined. 

The advantages of a small machine are many, as practical poultry keepers will readily 
appreciate by a careful consideration of the requirements for sucessful incubation. 

CATAI.OGL'E MAILED ON REQUEST 




Brooder Hatching Doing Double Duty 

Cycle Hatcher (for hatching only), 50-egg size $5.50; two for $10.50 

Brooder Hatcher (for hatching and brooding together) 8.00: two for J5.Q0 

THE PHILO SYSTEM 

of progressive poultry keeping is unlike all other ways of raising poultry, and in many re- 
spects it is just the reverse, accomplishing things that have always been considered impossible 
and getting results that are hard to believe without seeing. 

This system covers every detail of poultry work from selecting the breeders to marketing 
the product. It tells how to get eggs that will hatch, how to hatch nearly every egg laid 
and how to raise nearly all the chicks hatched. It gives complete plans in detail how to 
make all appliances necessary to run the business at less cost than is required to handle 
poultry successfully in any other manner. There is nothing complicated about the work and 
any man or woman w-ho can handle a hammer can construct the apparatus. 

Two-pound broilers are raised in a space less than a square foot to a broiler and the 
broilers are of the very best quality, usually bringing from three to five cents above the 
highest market price. Six-months-old pullets lay in a space of two square feet for each bird 
and breeding pens are allowed three square feet for each fowl. No green cut bone is fed 
and the food used is inexpensive compared with prepared foods others are using. 

The latest edition of the Philo System Book gives full particulars regarding this method 
of poultry raising in a simple, easy-to-understand manner with full directions that are right 
to the point and has fifteen pages of illustrations showing all branches of the work from 
start to finish. 

A COPY WILL BE SENT BY RETURN MAIL L^PON RECEIPT OF $1.00 



CYCLE HATCHER CO., 



WESTERN OFFICE 
11 MADISON ST., OAKLAND, CAL. 



Branch, Los Angeles, 541 Chamber of Commerce Building 



CALIFORNIA CULTIVATOR 

The big: rural weekly of the Pacific Coast, gives more poultry news than any poultry 
or farm paper published west of the Rocky Mountains. 

ONE YEAR (52 issues) FOR $1.00 

The only paper for the advertiser to reach the 

FANCIER AND UTILITY MAN 

14200 boua-fide subscribers. Write for sample copy and advertising rates 

CULTIVATOR PUBLISHING COMPANY 

115 N. Broadway, Los Angeles, Cal. 



l88!)=BARRfD PlTMOyiH RO(KS=l!)lfl 

OCEAN BLUE STRAIN 

Twenty-five regular and special prizes this 
season on 21 entries under three judges. At 
Los Angeles, the quality show of the 
coast, we won 17 regular and special 
prizes on 15 entries, 4 silver loving cups. 
Shape, color and head specials. Champion 
male, 1st and 2d pens. Sweepstakes pen 
and others too numerous to mention. 

Eggs always for sale, $3.00 to $5.00 per 15 

MR. and MRS. D. T WIELAND 

Moneta, Los Angeles County, Cal. 




ROSENEATH EGG RANCH 



lOSWALDM. 

Irotoon 

ARUNQTON 
CALITORNIA 



S. C. WHITE LEGHORNS 

WYCKOFF and GREGG STRAINS. Two of 
the best laying strains in the World. 

DAY-OLD CHICKS (My Specialty) 



1252 cents each. 



$10.00 per 100. 



$90.00 per 1000 



(No charge made for chick boxes if returned, 
express prepaid, within one week) 



I attend personally to selecting and filling all orders, 
endeavor to treat every patron honorably, and to give 
full value for their money. Everything as repre- 
sented. Visitors v^elcome. Inspection invited. 

Yours faithfully 

OSWALD M. ROBERTSON 



Home 4154 



Phones (Riverside) 



Sunset Red 4926 



WEST COAST SEED CO. 



No Better Place 
to Buy the Best 



POULTRY SUPPLIES 



AT LOWEST 
PRICES 



Also RELIABLE SEEDS at RIGHT PRICES 

Catalogues Free 

5 W. SEVENTH ST. - LOS ANGELES, CAL. 



Red 

Feather 

Farm 



Home of Buckeyes and 
Bourbon Red Turkeys 

the Slay-at-Home 
*•' - Turkeys 










^ Pea-comb Buckeyes are the only Standard American breed originated by a woman. They 
are beautiful dark red, ganiy looking birds, splendid winter layers, good sitters and mothiers, and 
the best of table birds, having abundance of fine-flavored breast meat. No eggs will be shipped 
from Red Feather Farm hereafter, but the originator and proprietor will herself raise and select 
pairs, trios and pens of her own breeding at reasonable prices. 

MRS. FRANK METCALF (^BucTeyes°0 Red Feather Farm, Inglewood, Cal. 



Heavy Laying White Leghorns Exclusively 

I ADMIT HAVING THE HEAVIEST LAYItJG STRAIN ON THE COAST 

I have a limited number of settings from my 
220-227 egg hens that I will accept orders for at 
$4.00 per 15. Cockerels from these hens at $7.00 
each. 

Our 18 years breeding a heavy strain is what 
docs it. Our birds never quit laying; they are 
healthy and happy and almost as large as Rocks. 
Nice Cockerels from $3.00 to $5.00. EGGS— $2.00 
per 15, $7.00 per 100 from the cream of the layers 
that average 192 eggs each. Send for our new 
24-page catalogue. 

Los Angeles, May 20th. 
My Dear Sir: I have been intending writing 
\ ou to let you know how the hens that I raised 
1 1 om yours eggs are doing. I have just 50 hens 
nt of the 108 eggs, and they started to lay when 
'■nly four months old. I intended to keep a record 
of the number of eggs laid, but failed to do so; 
when the San Francisco "shake" occured, my wife 
was in that city, so I placed feed and water in the 
yard to last them a week and I struck out to find 
my wife. I was gone just seven days, and I found 
that the hens had filled the nests and laid in the 
corners of the house and around on the ground. 
Wife and I gathered up just 329 eggs, which was 
an average of 47 eggs per day from the 50 hens, 
and they have never gone below 40 eggs since. 
We are more than satisfied, and ought to be. 

J. v.. STONE. 

RICHLAND EGG RANCH 

(W. C. MacFarlane) 

Phone Suburban 287 HANFORD, CAL. 




Trap N 



LAYING 

Jecords 




KOBT. I. PETERS, Prop. 

ORIGINAL WYCKOFF STOCK 

S. C. White Leghorns 

THE BUSINESS HEN 

When it comes to egg production, it would be extremely difficult — probably impossible 
— to find a more satisfactory breed than the White Leghorn. 

In choosing the foundation for a money-making flock of White Leghorns, you will make 
no mistake if you adopt the famous Wyckoff strain, which has stood at the head of the heavy 
laying class for more than a quarter of a century. 

Our breeding pens include a splendid collection of high-class stock — hens of proven 
merit as egg producers, carefully selected from our heaviest layers, and properly mated to 
insure best results in the development of the ideal White Leghorn of the genuine laying type. 

Eggs for hatching and high-grade breeding stock furnished at reasonable prices. Cor- 
respondence solicited. 



"BREEDERS" 





The Blue Ribbon Strain 
Mammoth White Holland Turkeys 

Of all varieties, the Mammoth White Holland is the easiest raised 
and at the same time the most profitable. Our strain of these beautiful 
birds is of extra large size, pure white, vigorous, healthy, prolific layers 
and very domestic. 




"irac^ 




Pen A. — Headed by the First Grand Prize Tom, Madison Square Garden, New York 

OUR GRAND BREEDING PENS are far the best that we have 
ever mated, also great care has been taken and much money expended 
to produce birds of the highest type. 

EGGS READY ABOUT MARCN I5TH 

Stock and Show Birds a matter of correspondence 

W. A. DEXTER, red. no. iss, PALMS, CAL. 



IMPORTER AND BREEDER 



Mammoth White Holland Turkeys 









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NELSON'S WHITE BEAUTY, age 11 


mo. 


California 


Tom. 


First Prize Winner | 


Chutes Park, 


Los A 


ng-eles. Ca 


..Jan. 


10. 


1910 1 



In mating our stock for 1910, 
great care has been taken, and 
much money expended to pro- 
duce the highest type of birds 
for utility and the show room. 

The big demand for stock 
and eggs has compelled an in- 
crease in the size of our plant. 

Our pens are all headed by 
birds of the highest type, and 
every order is filled with great 
care. 



THOMAS E. NELSON 



R. F. D. No. 2, Box 150 
Los Angeles, California 



GOOD ACRE BROTHERS 



Breeders of the 
World's Best 

Buff Orpingtons 
Rhode Island Reds 
White Leghorns 

and 

Buff Orpington Ducks 

Stock and Eggs for sale 
the year round 



Thirty-two First Prizes, two Silver 
Cups, two Sweepstakes Silver Medals, 
show season 1909 - 10 at Alaska- 
Yukon - Pacific Exposition, Seattle; 
the Great Chicago Show, Sacramento, 
Phcenix, San Jose, Oakland and 
Los Angeles. 

We keep abreast of the times, and 
our stock prove good layers as well. 
We are adding to our present stock 

ANCONAS 

The World's Great Layers 



GOOD ACRE BROS., Box W, Compton, CaL 



^:^)'3m^H0¥.% 



One copy del. to Cat. Div. 



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